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Chris Davies reveals what he loves about Paik and Iwata with Premier League admission

Birmingham City duo Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata celebrate after combining to setup Krystian Bielik's winner against Peterborough
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Chris Davies knows what a Premier League midfield looks like – and he believes Birmingham City’s much heralded duo of Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata have what it takes to play in the top flight.

Blues’ midfield maestros have been instrumental in the team’s surge to the summit of League One after 11 games. Iwata netted his fourth goal in nine games for Blues on Tuesday with a sumptuous left-footed volley and Paik dazzled with arguably his finest showing on English soil.

Their form and partnership has been so strong that summer signing Marc Leonard, a Premier League prospect in his own right, has been confined to the bench for two months.

READ: Chris Davies gives order to Christoph Klarer amid Blues fears

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Paik and Iwata rarely put a foot wrong. Their quality in possession – 88.9% passing accuracy for Paik and 87.6% for Iwata – and ball-winning skills means there are few, if any, more complete midfield pairings outside the top flight.

And Davies, who has vast experience coaching in the Premier League with Liverpool, Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur believes his dynamic duo can reach that level.

“Without looking too far forward, I think they are both players that absolutely could play in the Premier League,” Davies told BirminghamLive. “My experience of the Premier League suggests they could do that.

“They are both players that know they are going to have to earn it by going on this journey with us here at the club. The good thing is their humility is such that they treat every game as if they are playing in the Premier League now – and that’s what I love about them. Whatever game it is, to them it’s a big one, and that’s why they play so well together.

“I have been really happy with them and they seem to work well as a partnership as well, and play off each other quite nicely, and it’s definitely a strong area of the pitch to us.”

The people of Birmingham knew all about Paik heading into this season. He was one of the few players who impressed last year as Blues suffered relegation, and one of the few Davies insisted on keeping at the club.

Iwata arrived on deadline day, not to the same fanfare as record signing Jay Stansfield, but arguably with an even greater pedigree. Japan internationals rarely swap Champions League football with a winning machine like Celtic for a club in League One.

Blues’ recruitment team had been watching Iwata for a while and Davies jumped at the chance to sign him, not least because of the references he had received. Iwata was taken to Celtic by Ange Postecoglou, who Davies worked under at Spurs, and managed there by Davies’ long-term mentor Brendan Rodgers.

The Blues manager said: “I knew people at Celtic and I spoke to Ange about him, Brendan about him, also John Kennedy (assistant manager) at Celtic about him, so I knew a lot about him. He was a player we worked hard to get and credit to the club for that as well.

“My role within that is to suggest or watch the players that we’re targeting, and coach/manage them when they come, but the club had to do a lot of hard work behind-the-scenes in terms of driving the recruitment to attract him and bring him here. And we’re pleased that he did.”

Are Paik and Iwata a Premier League pair in the making? Have your say on the duo HERE