£500k Birmingham City star must be wanting more at St Andrew’s | OneFootball

Marc Leonard made the switch to Birmingham in the summer but it hasn't all gone to plan so far

Marc Leonard was a sought after signing by Birmingham City last summer but his time at the club has been quite underwhelming so far.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the midfielder joined the Blues in a deal with Brighton worth £500,000 last summer.

There was a protracted saga surrounding the 22-year-old’s future, with several clubs being linked to his signature.

But the Midlands outfit, and their great ambitions for promotion straight back to the Championship, won the day and earned a move for the promising youngster.

However, it has been a far from ideal start for Leonard in Chris Davies’ side, leading to questions over whether it’s a move they should’ve put so much effort into completing.

The Blues went through a major overhaul of their squad in the summer, also bringing in midfielders like Paik Seung-ho from South Korean side Jeobuk Hyundai Motors, and Tomoki Iwata from Celtic, so it is only natural that one summer signing will miss out on the starting lineup.

The pair have earned their place ahead of Leonard with impressive performances, and have rightly been chosen consistently, but that will bring no solace to Leonard and his current predicament.

Seung-ho has started each game for the Midlands outfit this season, making the transition to English football incredibly smoothly, while Iwata has even provided a few important goals for the team to go with his strong defensive displays.

This has left Leonard out in the cold, and it's difficult to see an immediate pathway for him back into the starting XI on a regular basis.

Marc Leonard’s Birmingham game time

Leonard has featured in 10 of Birmingham’s opening 13 games of the League One season, but only three of those have come as a start.

He has struggled to make much of an impact in Davies’ side, and doesn’t appear to be a major part of the manager’s plans in the starting XI.

The midfielder excelled at a League One level last season, playing in each of Northampton Town’s 46 fixtures, contributing five goals and six assists.

However, he has yet to register either a goal or an assist for the Blues in the third tier this year.

Given the amount of clubs that looked to sign him last summer, he must have been expecting a lot more when he committed to a move to St. Andrew’s.

It was reported by Football Insider during the transfer window that the likes of Sheffield United and Hull City were interested.

That same publication also mentioned that sides like Plymouth Argyle and Huddersfield Town were keeping tabs on Leonard.

A move to the Championship wouldn’t have been out of the question, as his performances for Northampton showed he could be ready to make that jump.

Instead, he’s stuck struggling to earn regular minutes in League One, which is causing his career to stall out a little.

Leonard may be wondering about his future at Birmingham

Leonard may be wondering whether the decision to move to Birmingham was the right one at this stage of his career.

The midfielder must have been expecting regular game time if he did turn down the opportunity to potentially sign for a Championship club.

Perhaps more time should be given to see how things play out, it is still only November after all.

However, the initial signs are not promising, and he could already be wondering what might be the best next step for his career.

There is no doubt that his stock has fallen, and those Championship offers may not come again if he does look to move on as soon as this January, probably on loan.

Birmingham will also want to make their money back on the £500,000 investment, so it’s unlikely he’d be available for a reasonable fee either, making a permanent exit unlikely.

It does also raise some major concerns for the Blues’ overall transfer strategy that so much was spent signing a player that has made three starts from 13 games, something the club must address going forward if they are to reach their lofty Premier League ambitions.