Birmingham City's transfer window: Years of terrible recruitment are not easily erased

Birmingham City’s January transfer window closed without any of the drama of previous years.

There were no rushed, ultimately pointless Yan Valery-type additions, no embarrassing double rejections like the one Bright Enobakhare dished out two seasons ago.

Instead there was work behind the scenes to sort out the left-back situation - work that unfortunately didn’t bear fruit.

But I’m not sure I buy the argument being put forward by some that the squad is considerably weaker. It remains exposed in some areas - just as it did when the last window closed.

Another defender, a replacement for Harlee Dean, would have been ideal but at least Blues didn’t leave themselves in left back purgatory by accepting a late bid for Pedersen without sourcing a replacement.

That would have been a calamitous situation. Juan Castillo’s inability to offer any answers on that side of the team demanded his return to Chelsea.

Elsewhere, of the players that have left, none have been directly involved in the first team, either lately or indeed ever.

Even the most experienced of those - Dean, who has gone on loan to Sheffield Wednesday, hasn’t featured since the end of November.

Ivan Sanchez has only started one league game in the ten months Bowyer has been at Blues.

It’s a shame about that because the winger was the one bright spot in the gloom that was Aitor Karanka’s tenure. Even though he provided just two goals from his 42 Championship matches, not all of his eight assists were from set-pieces.

Sanchez is clearly talented, his work-rate was good and of all the players Bowyer hasn’t used more, he’s the one you most wonder, obviously fitness aside, why.

For me Chuks Aneke’s departure wasn’t a bad bit of business, signed on a free for a modest