Birmingham City will hope to emulate Coventry City bargain this summer: View

Marlon King moved from Coventry City to Birmingham City in 2011, as he aimed to secure the Blues’ promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

King was a regular goalscorer in the second-tier with Gillingham and Watford in his earlier career, and had been playing in the Premier League for three seasons with Wigan Athletic, Hull City and Middlesbrough prior to his 2010 move back to the Championship with Coventry.

He was prolific for the Sky Blues, and had verbally agreed to extend his one-year deal with the club in the summer of 2011, but instead chose to join Birmingham under new boss Chris Hughton.

Then 31, King proved to be a great acquisition for Hughton as he netted 18 goals and notched 11 assists in 49 games in all competitions and Blues finished fourth, but lost in the play-off semi-finals to eventual winners Blackpool and went out in the Europa League group-stage.

He scored another 14 goals in 30 games in 2012/13, but saw his contract terminated that summer after suffering a long-term knee injury.

Birmingham could do far worse than unearthing another King this summer – a player that is going to score goals at will and make his teammates better, as they aim to return to the Championship after just one season in the third-tier.

Birmingham don’t have a goalscorer

Blues relied heavily on Jay Stansfield’s exploits in the 2023/24 campaign, but even his 12 league goals were not enough to keep them from relegation.

Stansfield was voted their Players’ and Supporters’ Player of the Season, and returns to parent club Fulham with another second-tier loan move likely this summer, with relegation ruling Blues out of another potential move for the 21-year-old.

Scott Hogan and Lukas Jutkiewicz are both out-of-contract this summer and look set to leave after scoring one and three league goals in 2023/24 respectively – a poor return from two experienced strikers at a club desperate for goals.

That leaves Tyler Roberts as their only in-contract centre-forward option for next season, after he joined from Leeds United last summer, but the 25-year-old has failed to score a goal this season after making just 17 league appearances amid persistent hamstring issues.

Blues will hope that in-contract wingers Koji Miyoshi and Siriki Dembele, who each netted six league goals this term, will stay on at the club to help them go back up, but will likely be resigned to losing valuable assets, Jordan James and Juninho Bacuna, who scored eight and seven league goals respectively.

Whoever is in charge at St Andrew’s for 2024/25 will need a goalscorer, and a King-inspired signing would definitely help out.

The free agent market could help

King was signed on a free transfer back in 2011, and that avenue could again prove fruitful for Blues as they look to secure some bargains with the pulling power they will inevitably possess in the third-tier.

Jonson Clarke-Harris is leaving Peterborough this summer as a modern-day club legend, after scoring 87 goals in 189 games for the Posh since his arrival from Bristol Rovers in 2020.

He would be a valuable pickup for any League One club, so Birmingham should be interested in his services if they are after a target man and a player that guarantees goals when given the right service.

Millwall’s Tom Bradshaw is set to become a free agent – he was prolific at Walsall in League One before scoring at a steady rate in the Championship for Barnsley and the Lions, and may be ready to drop back down a division at 31-years-old.

29-year-old Devante Cole is likely to leave Barnsley with his contract set to expire, and would be a statement signing after he placed third in the League One scoring charts this season with 18 goals in 46 appearances, albeit maybe destined for the Championship.

Whether those players are attainable targets, we will wait and see. However, what they could provide is that same impact King did all those years ago to, hopefully, ensure Blues’ League One stay is a brief one.