Yahoo Sport 
Five Birmingham City players have uncertain futures heading into January transfer window
Birmingham City have stocked their squad so well that the January transfer window will likely be quiet in terms of incomings – unless players depart that need to be replaced.
That is always the danger when a squad has such strength-in-depth. Inevitably there will be players who want to play more and will look elsewhere.
Long gone are the days where Blues’ best players are cherry-picked. Krystian Bielik, Paik Seung-ho and Ethan Laird have all recently committed to long-term contracts, tying themselves to ‘The Project’.
READ MORE: Major striker injury scare as Colombian ruled out of big Aston Villa clash
But there will inevitably be some movement, there always is. Here, we take a look at some players whose futures are likely to come under the microscope in January…
READ: Dion Sanderson transfer would only be sanctioned by Blues on one condition
READ: Four doubts in early Birmingham City team news for Shrewsbury
Alfie Chang
Chris Davies has spoken glowingly about Chang’s willingness to put in the hard yards to return from injury, but the 22-year-old returns to a very different Blues first team to the one he played in 15 months ago.
Blues’ midfield is now stacked. Davies has forged a pairing he believes has Premier League potential in Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata. Marc Leonard and Taylor Gardner-Hickman are right behind them.
Chang is going to find it extremely difficult to force his way back into the fold in the second half of the season. A loan move in January would allow Chang to regain match fitness and confidence before a more definitive decision on his Blues future can be taken next summer.
Dion Sanderson
No one would have envisaged that Sanderson would be Blues’ fourth choice centre-back three months on from a pre-season campaign which rebuilt his image in the eyes of many Bluenoses. Sanderson’s red card at Charlton was costly but the foot injury that followed was extremely damaging.
The club’s former captain might have had opportunities to regain his place in Blues’ line-up but, in his absence, Ben Davies impressed to become Chris Davies’ go-to deputy for Krystian Bielik and Christoph Klarer.
Now there is a question mark over whether Sanderson will stick around if his opportunities are limited. He does still have two-and-a-half years to run on his contract and Blues would need to replace him.
Alfons Sampsted
Sampsted’s situation is complex because the Iceland international has joined Blues on a loan deal from FC Twente. The deal includes an option-to-buy and Sampsted isn’t expected to return to Twente.
However, the Iceland international has found the going tough at Blues and hasn’t started a League One game yet. When Laird was out injured, Gardner-Hickman was preferred at right-back to Sampsted.
Sampsted is still adapting to Davies’ way and could become a more important player in the second half of the season, but if he isn’t content with his bit-part then he could seek an exit route in January.
Tyler Roberts
Even though Roberts has more Premier League appearances than every member of the Blues squad combined, he was deemed surplus-to-requirements by Davies in the summer and it’s difficult to imagine that stance changing.
Roberts is currently on loan at League One rivals Northampton but Blues most probably wouldn’t stand in his way if an opportunity came for him to seal a permanent move elsewhere.
George Hall
Hall is in a similar situation but, given his age and potential, Blues might want to see how his loan at Walsall develops. Hall has now forced his way back into Mat Sadler’s squad and is gradually being awarded more game time in League Two.
Do you foresee any departures in January? Have your say in the comments HERE
