Exclusive: Don Goodman drops claim on Alfie May's Birmingham City future | OneFootball

Don Goodman has told FLW his verdict on whether Alfie May will be a key part of Birmingham City's plans next season

Don Goodman believes Birmingham City should stick with Alfie May as one of their forward options in the Championship.

The forward joined the Blues last summer from Charlton Athletic, and played an important role in their dominant promotion back to the second tier.

He scored on 16 occasions, with Chris Davies’ side reaching an impressive 111 points on their way to the title.

However, he started just 27 times from 44 appearances in League One, raising some doubt over whether he will feature prominently in the second division.

Alfie May’s Birmingham future

Goodman has claimed that May has a good eye for goal, which will be a valuable skill for Birmingham to have in the Championship.

While he expects the 31-year-old to be a secondary option, he believes that the forward could pop up with some important goals from the bench.

“I think if you’re a newly promoted team going into the Championship from League One, and you’ve got a striker that scored 16 goals and eight assists in 44 games, but more importantly just 27 starts, then why would you look to offload him? It really wouldn’t make any logical sense to me,” Goodman exclusively told Football League World.

“Even if they bring new strikers to the football club in readiness for the Championship, I think he’s clearly got an eye for a goal, you only have to look at his track record before at Charlton and Cheltenham, in particular, in recent seasons, so he’s clearly got a goal in him.

“There will be games where Birmingham City will be crying out for somebody to maybe come off the bench and score a goal.

“There’s no reason why it couldn’t be Alfie May.”

Birmingham gained promotion straight back to the Championship at the first attempt, finishing 19 points clear of second place Wrexham.

May could have a role to play in the Championship for Birmingham

May hasn’t been able to earn a chance to prove himself in the Championship so far in his career, so this upcoming season is a big opportunity for him.

He has consistently scored goals at a League One level, so should be able to contribute in the final third in the second tier as well.

While it’s unlikely he’ll be starting every week, he could prove a valuable asset to have off the bench or to provide competition for the likes of Jay Stansfield.

Birmingham do need to upgrade their squad in some areas this summer to be competitive next season, but replacing May isn’t a necessity.