New League One squad rules mean Birmingham City can still complete 10 transfers

Birmingham City must abide by new squad rules following their relegation to League One. Championship clubs can register 25 first team players, whereas League One teams are only permitted to register 22.

That 22-man squad must include at least eight homegrown players but it doesn’t have to include goalkeepers or anyone under the age of 21. Blues have a number of under-21 starlets that Chris Davies is running the rule over in pre-season.

Blues only have 12 players who count towards their 22-man total and they are Dion Sanderson, Ethan Laird, Lee Buchanan, Krystian Bielik, Manny Longelo, Paik Seung-ho, Koji Miyoshi, Keshi Anderson, Siriki Dembele, Juninho Bacuna, Tyler Roberts and Lukas Jutkiewicz.

The aforementioned 12 includes enough homegrown players to meet the EFL’s quota, meaning Davies and technical director Craig Gardner can therefore sign another 10 players without having to worry about the rules. Under-21s such as Alfie Chang, Josh Williams, George Hall, Brandon Khela, Romelle Donovan and Jordan James won't count towards the total.

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Because goalkeepers do not count towards the total, teams are required to list positions when they submit their squads to the EFL within 24 hours of the transfer window closing. The rules state: “Clubs are required to declare whether or not a Player is goalkeeper when submitting a registration application. Inaccurately declaring an outfield Player as a goalkeeper will constitute misconduct as a breach of the Club’s obligation to behave towards the League with the upmost good faith.”

Blues maxed out their Championship squad last season with the January additions of Andre Dozzell, Paik and Alex Pritchard who has now left for Turkish side Sivasspor. Tony Mowbray wanted to add more players on deadline day but he wasn’t able to without offloading someone.

The club has been given a fresh start this summer after the departures of 11 senior players, including five loanees. Anderson and Jutkiewicz are the only players whose contracts have been extended.