Latest Birmingham City news from BirminghamLive takes a look at how John Eustace could line his team up after Dion Sanderson became their seventh summer signing
Birmingham City’s starting line-up will look very different at the beginning of next season.
No fewer than 11 senior players departed St Andrew’s in May after Blues secured a 17th-placed finish in the Championship. Three of them – Kevin Long, Krystian Bielik and Dion Sanderson – have returned, and Blues have added four more new faces during a busy summer window to date.
Ethan Laird, Koji Miyoshi, Siriki Dembele and Tyler Roberts are all exciting signings on paper. They will give John Eustace important options and all of them are able to fit into multiple systems.
Blues have operated in a 4-4-2 formation in pre-season after Eustace used 3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1 shapes last term. Here is how Blues could line up with their
4-4-2
Eustace has used almost identical starting XIs in Blues’ opening two pre-season fixtures. The only change he made for the second game against FC Cartagena was to replace the injured Bielik with Alfie Chang.
New arrivals Sanderson and Dembele could slot into Eustace’s 4-4-2 system quite easily. Sanderson can play at right-back as well as in central defence, while left winger Dembele has previously operated as a second strike
With John Ruddy in goal, Eustace has been using a back four of Ethan Laird, Marc Roberts, Kevin Long and Manny Longelo. Laird and Longelo are currently unchallenged for their positions, but £2m new recruit Sanderson will attempt to dislodge one of Roberts or Long.
In midfield it would be one of Chang or Ivan Sunjic alongside Bielik to create a more defensively solid pairing. Jordan James has impressed in a new role on the right wing, while trialist Keshi Anderson has starred on the left. Once Koji Miyoshi gets more minutes under his belt he will become James’ main challenger, while Dembele is favourite for the left wing spot.
Dembele could be used as a striker in this system, but it would most likely be two of Tyler Roberts, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Scott Hogan.
(4-4-2): Ruddy; Laird, Sanderson, Long, Longelo; Miyoshi, Bielik, Chang, Dembele; T Roberts, Hogan
4-2-3-1
This formation allows Blues to get most of their attacking stars into the XI. It would be a similar story in defence for now, with more fresh faces being targeted by the club’s recruitment team.
Eustace might favour a solid midfield two of Bielik and Chang/Sunjic, but he could throw Juninho Bacuna in alongside the Pole for more attack-minded thinking.
The three behind the striker is where it gets interesting and exciting. Miyoshi on the right, George Hall in the middle and Dembele on the left? Blues have an abundance of options if Eustace opts to play this way.
Summer signing Tyler Roberts would surely be favourite to lead the line – but he could rival Hall for the attacking midfield berth too. Scott Hogan would be Roberts’ main challenger if Blues do play a 4-2-3-1, with Jutkiewicz the other option.
(4-2-3-1): Ruddy; Laird, Sanderson, Long, Longelo; Bielik, Bacuna; Miyoshi, Hall, Dembele; T Roberts
3-5-2
Eustace hasn’t been able to train his team in the formation he used throughout last season due to limited options in central defence up to now. With Sanderson back on board, Eustace now has the tools to implement a back three should he wish to.
In an ideal world, Blues would also have a left-footed defender of Auston Trusty’s mould in the building – but there is still time for that. For now, Blues’ back three would consist of Sanderson, Marc Roberts and Long.
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