[themaclad]

Birmingham City have been given a suspended two-point deduction by the English Football League for rule breaches during an unsuccessful takeover bid.

The Championship club, who announced this week that American Tom Wagner is to buy a 45.6% stake, admitted to breaching EFL regulations.

The deduction is suspended until the end of the 2023-24 season.

Blues were initially charged following "a thorough investigation" in February.

The EFL said the owners' and directors' test was breached when the club "allowed a number of individuals to bring themselves within the definition of a relevant person and to acquire control of the club without the prior approval of the EFL".

It continued: "Those individuals received sanctions last month and the club has now entered into an agreed decision with the EFL which includes the suspended sporting sanction and liability for the associated costs of the investigation.

"In addition, Birmingham City's owner, Mr Vong Pech, has entered an agreed decision with the EFL after admitting to a breach of EFL regulations when he permitted those individuals to acquire control of the club without the prior approval of the EFL.

"Mr Vong Pech was issued with a warning and reprimand, and is liable to pay the costs of the investigation."

There was an approach to acquire ownership of the club by Paul Richardson and Maxi Lopez, which came to an end in December, and separate negotiations with unnamed potential investors, but the EFL has not confirmed the identities of anyone involved in the case.

Blues have been owned by China-based Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited since 2016.

They bought the club as Trillion Trophy Asia following the tenure of Carson Yeung to become Blues second successive ownership from Asia.

The new prospective part-owners - hedge-fund managers - are to purchase 24% of shares from Blues' parent company Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited, plus 21.64% of shares which will be transferred from Oriental Rainbow Investments and Achiever Global Group.

Wagner's company Shelby Companies Limited will also take ownership of St Andrew's, the club's home since 1906.

City, the Championship's longest survivors, finished 17th last season in their 12th consecutive campaign in the second tier - their first under head coach John Eustace - nine points clear of the drop.

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Troy Deeney is one of six first-team players released by Birmingham City at the end of their contracts.

The Blues captain had been offered a new deal in March but will depart St Andrew's after two seasons, in which he scored 11 goals in 56 appearances.

Former skipper Harlee Dean is also among those going, having played his 200th game for the club in the final-day defeat by Sheffield United

Maxime Colin, George Friend, Jordan Graham and Kevin Long are also leaving.

The Championship club, who gave their "thanks to all departing players for their contributions across their time with Blues" also said talks were "ongoing with a number of released players".

Deeney, who is 35 in June, joined his hometown club on transfer deadline day in 2021 from Watford, where he spent more than a decade having started his career back in the West Midlands with Walsall.

In his final season with Blues, Deeney moved more into radio and TV punditry with occasional appearances on Match of the Day.

Speaking at the time of being offered a new contract two months ago, Deeney said he was interested in a player-coaching role at the club and was "seeing how it looks", insisting it "was not about the money" but "more about time - it's a question of 'do you want to invest more time?' or do you go 'thanks, but no thanks' and move on to pastures new?"

Defender Dean was transfer listed by the club under former head coach Lee Bowyer in December 2021, but was given a fresh chance by current boss John Eustace this season.

But the 31-year-old's six-season stay at St Andrew's will now end after 16 appearances this term.

Birmingham have also taken up options to extend the contracts of Oliver Basey, Rico Browne, Tate Campbell, Tommy Fogarty, Nico Gordon, Marcel Oakley and Kieran Wakefield.

Krystian Bielik, Hannibal Mejbri, Reda Khadra, Dion Sanderson, Auston Trusty have all returned to their parent clubs - Derby County, Manchester United, Brighton, Wolves and Arsenal respectively - following loan spells.

All the departures come before the expected approval of American financier Tom Wagner's purchase of a 45.64% stake in the club by the English Football League and Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Earlier this month, the club were given a suspended two-point deduction by the EFL for rule breaches during an unsuccessful takeover bid.

The penalty is suspended until the end of the 2023-24 season.

[themaclad]

The English Football League has approved the purchase of a 45% stake in Championship club Birmingham City by US-based Shelby Companies Limited.

The deal will see 24% of shares acquired from Blues' parent company Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited.

The remaining 21.64% will be transferred from Oriental Rainbow Investments and Achiever Global Group.

A club statement said they were now awaiting final clearance from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Shelby Companies are a subsidiary of his Knighthead Capital Management Group co-founded by financier Tom Wagner, who outlined his plans for the club in a letter to supporters last month.

They believe Birmingham's potential is "unlimited" and are ready to "commit the resources, in line with EFL guidelines, the skills and the determination needed to deliver transformational improvements for the good of the club and good of the city".

Investment in both the men's and women's teams has also been promised along with "high-performance facilities and culture needed for success".

Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited have been looking for investment in Blues for some time.

Last summer former Barcelona and AC Milan striker Maxi Lopez was part of a consortium, including Blues fan and local businessman Paul Richardson, that claimed to be close to buying a 21% stake.

That interest was ended in December, although subsequently Lopez, Richardson and Matthew Southall admitted breaching EFL rules over the owners and directors' test by taking control of the club without going through the proper sign-off procedure.

Birmingham finished the 2022-23 Championship campaign in 17th place.

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Birmingham City have signed Leeds United forward Tyler Roberts for an undisclosed fee.

The 24-year-old is the first summer signing by Blues, having played against them last October during a loan spell at Queens Park Rangers.

Roberts, who was a member of the Wales squad that reached the last 16 at Euro 2020, has agreed a four-year contract.

"With what's going on here and where I am in my career, I think it's the perfect fit," Roberts said.

"I've spoken to the gaffer (John Eustace) and it's all been really positive, I'm hoping I can bring my experiences and the quality I have into the team."

Roberts began is career in the West Midlands with West Bromwich Albion and had loan spells at Oxford United, Shrewsbury Town and Walsall before being sold to Leeds in the 2018 January transfer window.

He has extensive Premier League experience with Leeds but was allowed to join QPR last summer and made 21 appearances for the London club.

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Defender Kevin Long has signed a one-year deal to stay at Birmingham City.

The Republic of Ireland international was last month named as one of six Blues players to be released at the end of their contracts.

Long has also been given a one-year option by the club after joining them from Burnley for the second half of last season.

The 32-year-old made 20 appearances as Birmingham had their best season for six years.

Long said he had been looking at other options before deciding to accept a new deal at St Andrew's.

He told the club website: "Coming into the summer, I was out of contract, there were other offers on the table but I just think that I enjoyed my time here, I enjoyed working under the gaffer and enjoyed working with the players. After weighing it up, I thought I would be happy going back and making more progress."

Long made 91 appearances for Burnley in a 13-year stay that included loan spells at Accrington, Rochdale, Portsmouth, Barnsley and Milton Keynes Dons.

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Birmingham City have re-signed Poland midfielder Krystian Bielik from Derby County on a three-year-deal, subject to league and FA clearance.

The 25-year-old played 37 games in a season-long loan spell with Blues last term, after a previous loan in 2017.

Bielik, who joined Derby from Arsenal in 2019 for a club record £10m, last played for the Rams in April 2022 before their relegation to League One.

He told Blues TV he is "buzzing" to be back at St Andrew's.

"We have been working with Birmingham for the last couple of weeks," he said. "We talked about the project and what we want to achieve.

"I fully believe in this, so that is why I am back. It has been a good last year for me personally and the club as well. We are going to push for more this season."

Bielik's move to Derby for an initial fee of about £8m, with add-ons taking it to £10m, came just two years before the club went into administration.

While he remained with the Rams during their period of financial turmoil, which eventually led to their relegation from the Championship, he was sent to Birmingham on loan last season.

Bielik had a year left on his deal with Derby, where he played 49 games during an injury-plagued four years, which included suffering two anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

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hampionship side Birmingham City have signed full-back Ethan Laird from Premier League club Manchester United for an undisclosed fee.

The 21-year-old made two first-team appearances for the Red Devils, featuring in Europa League group games against Astana and AZ Alkmaar in 2019.

Laird spent last season on loan with Queens Park Rangers, scoring one goal in 33 outings in all competitions.

He has agreed a three-year contract with the Blues.

The defender also had loan spells at MK Dons, Swansea City and Bournemouth after coming through United's youth academy.

"It is a new step, a new pathway now and I am excited to get started," he told the club website.

"I feel like this is the time where I get to showcase myself and not really think about anything else."

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US-based Shelby Companies Limited (SCL) has completed its takeover of the Championship's longest-serving club Birmingham City.

A statement released by Knighthead Capital Management confirmed that the previously Chinese-owned club now has new controlling shareholders.

It said that its "affiliate company" SCL now has 45.98% ownership of Birmingham City Limited.

SCL also has full ownership of Blues' ground at St Andrew's.

Blues' new owners say they will be there in person for the first Championship home game of the season against Leeds United on Saturday, 12 August.

In an open letter to Blues fans, Knighthead co-founder and co-chief executive Tom Wagner said: "The transition and implementation plans will take time.

"There will be bumps in the road but I ask that you get behind the leadership team guiding the club forward, be part of the alliance and continue to give every team that wears the shirt your passionate support."

Wagner also confirmed that Blues will continue their upgrade of St Andrew's, work on which had stalled - and that the first team will continue to train at Henley-in-Arden.

Blues moved there to the Elite Performance and Innovation Centre, the former training base of ex-Premiership rugby union club Wasps, following a fire at Wast Hills in March.

Upgrades will also be done on Wast Hills, where the academy and Blues women teams will train.

A statement confirming the completion of the takeover said: "SCL has completed the transactions with the majority owners of Birmingham City Football Club, including Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited (BSHL), following approval by the shareholders of BSHL.

"SCL has assumed responsibility for all operations of the club and will provide the necessary funding to rebuild and set a new trajectory.

"SCL is committed to providing the resources, in line with English Football League guidelines, needed to deliver transformational change for the good of the club and the benefit of the city whose name it proudly carries."

SCL is a subsidiary of the Knighthead Capital Management Group co-founded by financier Tom Wagner, who outlined his plans for the club in a letter to supporters in May.

BSHL had been seeking fresh investment and the chance to offload Blues for well over a year.

Last summer former Barcelona and AC Milan striker Maxi Lopez was part of a consortium, including Blues fan and local businessman Paul Richardson, that claimed to be close to buying a 21% stake.

That interest was ended in December, although subsequently Lopez, Richardson and Matthew Southall admitted breaching EFL rules over the owners and directors' test by taking control of the club without going through the proper sign-off procedure.

Blues, who have been in the Championship since they were last relegated to the second tier from the Premier League in 2011, the year they won the League Cup at Wembley, finished last season in 17th place under head coach John Eustace.



The Shelby's

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Premier League newcomers Luton Town have signed Birmingham City winger Tahith Chong for a reported £4m.

The 23-year-old moved to St Andrew's from Manchester United last summer for about £1.5m after a successful loan spell the previous season.

He made 41 appearances for the Blues last season, scoring four times as they finished 17th in the Championship.

"Tahith is someone that I, and the club, have known for a very long time," said Hatters boss Rob Edwards.

"I first crossed paths with him when I was at Wolves a few years ago and he was in Manchester United's Under-23s.

"I've liked him from then, and he was a bit more of a winger at the time. Looking at him in a lot more detail at Birmingham this year, he's been able to play inside as a midfield player as well."

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Chong has played for the Netherlands up to Under-21 level and is also eligible for Curacao, where he was born.

He made five appearances for Man Utd in a six-year stay and also had loan spells with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen and Belgian club Club Bruges.

"In the few hours that I've been here I already get the feeling that it really is a family club," said Chong.

"I'm a football fan I've watched some games so I've seen how they've played and it shows togetherness and unity - and you can only have that if you're a family club.

"I think that's important because every club faces adversity - it's not always going to be good - but if you're a family club you stick through it together and it's easier as a family."

Luton have also signed Republic of Ireland winger Chiedozie Ogbene, 26, from Rotherham, as well as Danish defender Mads Andersen from Barnsley this summer.

Last season's top scorer for the Hatters, Carlton Morris, has also signed a new contract at the club.

This is Championship play-off winners Luton's first season in the Premier League, last playing in the top flight in 1991-92.

Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Birmingham City have signed winger Siriki Dembele for an undisclosed fee from AFC Bournemouth.

Dembele has joined on a three-year contract just after Tahith Chong left Blues to move to Premier League newcomers Luton Town.

The 26-year-old played 22 times for Bournemouth, scoring two goals, but he spent the second half of last season on loan at French club Auxerre.

He becomes Birmingham's sixth signing this summer.

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Birmingham City have signed Wolves defender Dion Sanderson for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal.

The 23-year-old spent last season on loan with Blues and made 31 Championship appearances.

Sanderson joined Wolves' academy at the age of eight and made one appearance for the first team.

"It has been an ongoing thing for quite a while now, so I am happy that we have got it over the line and now I'm home," he told the Blues club website.