Birmingham City this week confirmed their first signing of the Chris Davies era as Ryan Allsop's arrival was confirmed.
The 32-year-old goalkeeper has joined for an undisclosed fee from Championship side Hull City. Hull pushed for a play-off spot last season and Allsop was their first-choice for a majority of the campaign, and now he's arrived at his boyhood club to help them get promoted.
The transfer window opened on Friday, June 14, and the fixtures are due to come out on Wednesday, June 26 at 9.00 am. Pre-season will begin in early July, and hopefully there will be more new faces joining Allsop on the first day of training.
Relegation to League One offers Birmingham an opportunity to rethink how they do things, and one hope is that they use more of the players that have featured for the under-21 and under-18 teams that perform well in their leagues. Romelle Donovan is highly-rated and played seven times last season.
Blues have had some success by nurturing some players from other clubs. Jay Stansfield was a popular figure at St Andrew's last season and he returns to Fulham on the back of a positive spell for himself, having reached double figures.
Now Birmingham are in League One, it might be worth looking at the players that excelled in League Two last term. There are players that will have helped get teams promoted or stood out in a team that challenged. Development is key for young players and the parent clubs might be looking at what the next step is for their youngsters.
Here, BirminghamWorld takes a look at some youngsters that performed well in League Two last season, including some that are on the books of Brighton, Southampton, Hull and Burnley. What do you think of our list? Let us know in the comments.
1. Brad Hills - Norwich City (Accrington Stanley)
Hills has just come off his first full season in senior football. Standing at six foot and one inch, he is a centre-back contracted to Norwich City. He played 48 times in all competitions last season and was capped twice for the England under-21s team. Hills scored three goals and kept 12 clean sheets, whilst also captaining the team on two occasions. | Getty ImagesPhoto: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
2. Mo Faal - West Brom (Doncaster Rovers and Walsall)
The 21-year-old spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Doncaster Rovers and then Walsall. He scored 15 goals in total in 53 games across four competitions. Faal has been tipped to make it at the Hawthorns, but one more loan might benefit him. | Getty Images
3. Louie Barry - Aston Villa (Stockport County)
Nine goals and four assists in 22 appearances for Stockport County. They are interested in pursuing a permanent move but if Aston Villa want to keep him, they will want to see him move up the football ladder and so League One is the next step.Photo: George Wood/Getty Images
4. Matthew Craig - Spurs (Doncaster Rovers)
Defensive midfielder that played 20 times for Doncaster Rovers last season. Two assists and a goal whilst playing in a team that only lost twice in the league after he joined. | Getty Images