Birmingham City pre-season: Lee Bowyer, Ivan Sanchez and other Blues issues

Lee Bowyer was not present as Birmingham City started their pre-season preparations at Wast Hills this week. Blues’ players returned from their summer break on Monday, for testing at Coventry University.

They were back at their Wast Hills training base on Tuesday and trained on Wednesday but with speculation around his future – which seems to be tied up with the club’s ongoing takeover situation – it has emerged Bowyer has not returned to the squad. Yet.

Indeed these early days have seen head of physical performance Sean Rush, take a lead role, with first team development coach Paul Harsley and goalkeeper coach Andy Marshall leading sessions ‘on the grass’. However, Bowyer has not been the only absentee, with the club’s international players also on a belated break, key figures like Neil Etheridge, Scott Hogan and Juninho Bacuna. Ivan Sanchez is also yet to return to the squad with his season at Real Valladolid having not finished until their promotion was confirmed on May 29.

BirminghamLive understands the whole group, including Bowyer, is due back at Wast Hills over the weekend, with Blues’ pre-season preparations stepping up from there. There is, though, no clarity on whether a replacement for Mark Kennedy, Bowyer’s No. 2 who left for Lincoln last month, is in the pipeline.

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Blues are yet to sign any new players this summer, despite the fact Kristian Pedersen, Jeremie Bela and Connal Trueman all left at the end of last season, with their contracts set to formally expire on June 30.

Pedersen has since signed for Bundesliga outfit FC Koln, leaving Blues without a recognised left back, or left wing back. The fixtures for the