Birmingham City’s strike duo can shine – but Emile Heskey warns promotion won’t come easy

After a commanding League One campaign that saw Birmingham City storm to the title with an astonishing 111 points, the mood around St Andrew’s is one of hope, ambition and cautious excitement.

Promotion was just the beginning – with fresh investment and a dynamic young squad, the conversation has already shifted to the next goal: a return to the Premier League.

Few are better placed to weigh in than former Blues striker Emile Heskey.

While he is optimistic, Heskey recognises the scale of the task ahead for the club ahead of the upcoming campaign in the Championship.

Timeframe

“I’m sure Birmingham City can call themselves favourites to go up,” he told BestBettingSites.co.uk.

“That’s such a hard task to go straight from League One, into the Championship and then onto the Premier League at the first try.”

The Championship has a reputation for being one of the toughest leagues in world football.

It is relentless, physical and unforgiving. History is littered with promoted teams who have struggled to adjust.

But Birmingham’s ambitions are clear, and Heskey believes they won’t be content with simply surviving.

“In their eyes, they will know they’ve spent a lot of money, and they have a new stadium on the horizon,” he added.

“They will know the timeframe they need to be in the Premier League by.

“I think this season might be too soon, but within the next five years, they will want to make it happen.”

Dangerous

That long-term vision is backed by a clear footballing strategy, and one of the cornerstones of that is a forward line that could prove lethal in the Championship.

Jay Stansfield, who scored 19 goals in League One last season and capped his campaign by helping England win the Under-21 Euros, has been joined by Kyogo Furuhashi from Celtic.

The Japanese international has proven his quality north of the border, and while the Championship will be a new challenge, his pedigree is undeniable.

“I think it can be the most dangerous strike partnership in the Championship,” Heskey said of the new duo. 

“The experience Kyogo has of playing for Celtic means he has played for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, and Scottish football is tough.”

The former Liverpool and England striker is under no illusions about the difficulty of the transition: “He can handle the pressure of that, but I don’t think it’ll all be easy for him in the Championship.

“It’s physical and it’s intense, and that’s never easy.”

Dynamic

But what Furuhashi lacks in Championship experience, Stansfield makes up for with youthful energy and growing maturity.

“Stansfield had 20-plus goals last season, and I think he’ll be looking not just to equal that, but get even more in the Championship,” Heskey noted.

“His movement is outstanding. What he has to handle now is the step up in quality, and we have to see how he deals with the physical and mental demands.

“If they can manage all that, they’ll be one of the best duos in the league.”

With that comes the possibility of competition between the two strikers for the golden boot.

It’s a dynamic that could energise the team, but it also needs to be handled delicately.

“I think that they will be the leading candidates to be the top scorer,” Heskey said. 

“That competition can be healthy, but only if they don’t play at the expense of each other.”

He was quick to emphasise the importance of teamwork over individual glory: “Kyogo and Stansfield need to pass to each other and help each other, and the scoring competition should be an afterthought. You want it to be healthy.”

If Birmingham’s forward line can click, and if the club’s off-pitch vision continues to align with strong performances on it, then the dream of Premier League football may not be far-fetched.

Heskey’s view is measured, but not pessimistic: “They’re going to be a natural fit for the Premier League. I can’t wait to see the derby with Villa again.”

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