"I could see a situation" - Birmingham City transfer scenario touted involving Lyndon Dykes & Alfie May | OneFootball

FLW's Birmingham City fan pundit believes Lyndon Dykes has a future with the club

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Birmingham City will already be undertaking plans and outlining their transfer strategy ahead of the 2025/26 Championship campaign, having won the League One title with six games to spare over the weekend.

As widely anticipated, Chris Davies' side have made light work of their bid to gain promotion back to the Championship at the very first time of asking.

Blues' lavish summer spending earned critics, but, love it or loathe it, their spree has ultimately reaped reward as the title has been clinched in unhitched fashion and the foundations have already been laid out for future success, with consecutive promotions sure to be on the agenda for Tom Wagner and co.

With Birmingham poised to flex their financial muscles and undeniable pulling power this summer as they look to ruffle feathers in the second-tier next term, it does pose questions over the futures of a number of players at St Andrews @ Knightead Park. One of those facing uncertainty could be Lyndon Dykes, who joined Birmingham last summer from QPR but has endured a bit-part role under Davies, often playing behind the likes of record signing Jay Stansfield and Alfie May.

A proven Championship goalscorer, Dykes registered 37 strikes across four seasons in West London. He has scored five times for Birmingham this season, but only one of those goals has come in League One - although the Scottish international has started on just nine occasions in league action.

However, Dykes' experience means he could still stick around for the next chapter of the Knighthead era as Blues venture into the Championship.

Birmingham City backed to retain Lyndon Dykes in the Championship

FLW asked our resident Bluenose fan pundit, Mike Gibbs, whether Dykes has a future heading into the second-tier, or if Davies needs to source an upgrade by recruiting a better, more-refined target man at the top-end of the pitch.

Although Dykes has played a minimal role in Birmingham's title-winning promotion, Mike believes that the ex-QPR man should be retained for next season and that the aforementioned May, who has registered 15 goals and eight assists this term, could move down the pecking order to more of an impact substitute.

"I do think he has got a future in the Championship," Mike told FLW.

"He's obviously played at that level a number of times, I would argue he's proven at that level. He obviously plays international football with Scotland as well.

"I think in terms of that big-man type role he plays, we don't typically need an upgrade on it. What we may want to do is add a striker of a different ilk to the mix.

"One of the things I thought on Sunday was that Stansfield was far more effective on the left than he was as a striker, so if there's anyone we're looking to upgrade, for me it would probably be Alfie May.

"I could see a situation where we keep Dykes, May and Stansfield. I could see [Lukas] Jutkiewicz moving on and retiring and that space frees up a head for a physical goal-machine in space of May and use him as more of an impact sub."

Lyndon Dykes has a role to play for Birmingham City in the Championship

In English football, Dykes has never been awfully prolific infront of goal. That hasn't been the case at Blues either, of course, but the 29-year-old still brings a number of notable redeeming qualities that could keep him in the picture in spite of his modest goal return.

Dykes brings a real physical presence that has routinely enabled him to be a real handful for opposition defenders throughout his career.

He's no slouch either, and is comfortable running the channels, but his greatest strengths lie in his ability to press high up the pitch - a vital attribute for a side who look to dominate possession - hold the ball up and free up space for others.

He tends to cause problems even when the goals aren't flowing, and he could be a useful option to rotate with Stansfield or bring on when Blues are chasing a goal and need to bombard the opposition.

What that means for May, of course, remains to be seen. May has shone this season in rotation with Stansfield but is two years Dykes' senior and, unlike his compatriot, has never even played at Championship level.