How Birmingham City's team could look on opening day if dream transfers are completed

Birmingham City have today learned their fixtures for the 2022/2023 Championship season. They start with a trip to Luton – end with a home match against Sheffield United, in the middle of which is a one-month season breaker to allow the Qatar World Cup to take place.

The season starts on July 30 – just over five weeks away – and while we know the identity of Blues ’ opponents, we are less sure about which players will be taking part in that game. Indeed with the transfer window open for the whole first month of the season, the side which starts at Kenilworth Road might not look much like the one which goes to Preston North End on September 3.

As things stand, with no signings made yet – a situation in which half of the division still find themselves – the only safe assumption in this summer of uncertainty is that the side will have a very familiar look to the one which played last term – minus sparkly bits.

At the time of writing we are looking at a starting XI of something along the lines of Etheridge; Colin, Gordon/Dean, Roberts, Friend; Woods, Gardner, Sunjic; Graham, Deeney, Bacuna. Maybe, depending on formation.

But even with the takeover still bubbling away in the background, Blues have continued to be linked with targets – and BirminghamLive understands there are long-lists of players in whom Blues are somewhere between smitten by and vaguely interested.

Until the new owner becomes clear, we don’t even know how much technical director Craig Gardner will have to play with – but when I was asked to write this piece the brief was ‘How Blues squad could look on opening day if dream transfers are completed’.

Short of trying to bring Christophe Dugarry out of retirement and persuading Paul Pogba and Gareth Bale