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.
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.
![Was an unused substitute for Hull City eight times last season. Moved out on loan to Doncaster, kept nine clean sheets in 20 games. Lo-Tutala is a France under-20 international and was also called up to their under-21 squad.](https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/jpim-static/2024/06/20/11/31/GettyImages-2151767834.jpg?crop=3:2&trim=&width=800)
5. Thimothée Lo-Tutala - Hull City (Doncaster Rovers)
Was an unused substitute for Hull City eight times last season. Moved out on loan to Doncaster, kept nine clean sheets in 20 games. Lo-Tutala is a France under-20 international and was also called up to their under-21 squad. | Getty Images
![Centre-forward that spent the first half of the season on loan at Morcambe. Netted 13 goals in 22 league matches. Moved to Scotland for the second half of the season and got three goals in 14 games.](https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/jpim-static/2024/06/20/11/31/GettyImages-1307796354.jpg?crop=3:2&trim=&width=800)
6. Michael Mellon - Burnley (Morecambe)
Centre-forward that spent the first half of the season on loan at Morcambe. Netted 13 goals in 22 league matches. Moved to Scotland for the second half of the season and got three goals in 14 games. | Getty ImagesPhoto: Getty Images
![23-year-old Scottish goalkeeper that has returned from Morecambe. Kept two clean sheets in 21 games after spending the first half of the season on loan at Gateshead, shutting out teams seven times in 25 games.](https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/jpim-static/2024/06/20/11/28/GettyImages-1489813380.jpg?crop=3:2&trim=&width=800)
7. Archie Mair - Morecambe (Norwich City)
23-year-old Scottish goalkeeper that has returned from Morecambe. Kept two clean sheets in 21 games after spending the first half of the season on loan at Gateshead, shutting out teams seven times in 25 games. | Getty ImagesPhoto: Getty Images
![Spent the first half of the season on loan with Morecambe and then headed up to Scotland to play for Ross County. Wales under-21 international King got two assists and a goal for the Shrimpers. Up in Scotland, the defensive midfielder helped the Staggies stay in the Scottish Premiership.](https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/jpim-static/2024/06/20/11/04/GettyImages-1488386801.jpg?crop=3:2&trim=&width=800)
8. Eli King - Cardiff City (Morecambe)
Spent the first half of the season on loan with Morecambe and then headed up to Scotland to play for Ross County. Wales under-21 international King got two assists and a goal for the Shrimpers. Up in Scotland, the defensive midfielder helped the Staggies stay in the Scottish Premiership. | Getty ImagesPhoto: Gareth Copley/Getty Images