The deadline day signings of Patrick Roberts and Jack Robinson addressed certain needs for Blues.
Chris Davies was keen to bolster the options out wide, specifically for a left-footer who can come inside from the right.
Roberts fits that bill and also has a proven track record in the Championship, as a key factor in Sunderland winning the Play-Offs last season.
Robinson provides cover at centre-half or left-back, and also balance as another left-footer.
He also has bags of know-how and is a promotion-winner from the second tier. The Sheffield United captain – 32 today – was facing an uncertain future under new manager Ruben Selles.
There was no ‘marquee’ signing to set the pulses racing, although why a lot of observers felt there would be was somewhat puzzling.
Blues have to be mindful of Profit and Sustainability Rules. And they have shelled out on higher wages this summer, as well as fees.
And whilst they may have explored the possibility of a Che Adams, for example, the total financial package for such an addition would have been too much to bear.
Let’s not forget deadline day is not the be all and end all; Blues did the main chunk of their business early on and Demarai Gray and Kyogo Furuhashi were big name additions who put considerable dents in the budget.
Bright Osayi-Samuel, too, and Marvin Ducksch is a German international who left the Bundesliga for Blues.
In total, this summer window Blues signed 14 players if you include the loans of Alfons Sampsted and Taylor Gardner-Hickman that were made permanent.
Players loaned in were James Beadle, Tommy Doyle, Eiran Cashin, Lewis Koumas and Roberts.
In regards to exits, Blues moved on seven players for transfer fees – the last being George Hall hours before the deadline – whilst six senior first team squad members were sent out on loan and Lukas Jutkiewicz retired.
The full list of ins and outs can be found on our Transfer Tracker page.
Roberts, 28, was a regular at Sunderland. He scored the goal against Sheffield Wednesday that took the Black Cats to the League One Play-Off Final, which they won.
And he made 48 appearances in the last campaign, coming off the bench at Wembley to help turn the Championship Play-Off Final in Sunderland’s favour against Sheffield United.
Opportunities have been limited, however, in the Premier League for him.
Roberts, who began his career at Fulham before a £12 million move to Manchester City in 2015, is an exciting ball carrier and dribbler who causes problems, and he performs with the kind of work rate Davies demands.
Former Liverpool Academy product Robinson was a Blades stalwart after signing in January, 2020, from Nottingham Forest.
He has Premier League experience and skippered Sheffield at Wembley in that aforementioned Play-Off Final against Roberts’ Sunderland.
After the dismissal of Chris Wilder, Sheffield stocked up on centre-halves – they had six to choose from – and it became clear that Robinson’s days were numbered.
He joined Blues for an undisclosed fee and signed a two-year contract.
Blues also tried for Celtic’s South Korean winger Yang Hyun-jun in a mooted £3 million deal, but that came to nothing as negotiations fell foul of the 7pm deadline.
There was also interest in Senegalese defender Mikayil Faye, 21, who can play at centre-half or left-back. Italian side Cremonese secured his signature on loan from Rennes.
Academy product Hall joined Port Vale for an undisclosed fee.
Hall agreed a three-year contract with the League One Valiants.
The attacker made his Blues debut in January, 2022, the first of 41 appearances all told for the club.
Last season Hall, 21, was on loan at Walsall and started for them at Wembley in their League Two Play-Off Final defeat by AFC Wimbledon.
Another Academy graduate, midfielder Alfie Chang, was loaned to Bristol Rovers, of League Two. Chang, 22, also spent time at Walsall last season.
Forward Tyler Roberts was loaned out again by Blues, this time to League One Mansfield Town for the remainder of the season. Last season he was shipped to Northampton Town.
Gardner-Hickman moving to Blackburn Rovers on loan was somewhat surprising.
His versatility, reliability and honesty has always been a plus for Blues. And the 23-year-old made key contributions in 2024/25, scoring the goal at Peterborough United that clinched promotion from League One.
But Davies is re-shaping his squad without sentiment and Gardner-Hickman’s desire to nail regular football, and probably hold down one position, will have come into the decision-making process.
