Why Birmingham City have loaned out Ayumu Yokoyama and what Chris Davies needs to see
Ayumu Yokoyama has sealed a loan move away from Birmingham City less than six months after joining the club.
Blues have sent Yokoyama to Belgian side Genk for the remainder of this season after the Japanese winger’s bit-part role became at risk of reducing under Chris Davies during the promotion run-in.
Davies recently admitted that he has found it difficult to blood youngsters in Blues’ high pressure League One games. It has been telling that Luke Harris, a 19-year-old on loan from Fulham, hasn’t been used by Davies in recent matches either.
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Yokoyama, for all his skill, flair and ability to entertain, is even behind Harris in Davies’ thinking. We saw that against Blackpool in the final match of 2024 when Davies selected Harris to replace the injured Emil Hansson on the left-wing when Yokoyama was the obvious like-for-like replacement.
Davies’ trust issues with Yokoyama have been abundantly clear at times this season. While the Blues manager has pointed to Yokoyama’s age, adaptation and the fact he hasn’t yet mastered the language, the occasional rollicking when Yokoyama hasn’t tracked a runner has given us an unscripted glimpse into Davies’ thinking.
The 21-year-old’s potential is obvious. There’s an argument to suggest Yokoyama is the best one-v-one wide player in Blues’ squad. He certainly has the attributes to be the best, but he does need refining.
The question is whether Yokoyama can be coached to fit Davies’ philosophy which by now we have all realised prioritises control of a football match rather than scoreline obliterations.
At this moment in time, Blues deem it more important that Yokoyama plays football rather than spends his week learning on the training ground without the guarantee of even a place in the squad on a Saturday.
It’s a shame Yokoyama won’t see through Blues’ Vertu Trophy campaign, having top scored and played a key role in the club’s journey to the quarter-finals, but with a maximum of three games to play in that competition he is better served going to Belgium where league football should be on the cards too.
Maybe the nine substitutes rule will work in Yokoyama’s favour should Blues get to the Championship, or maybe he just won’t fit. Only time will tell and Yokoyama needs a strong end to the season with Genk to prove to Davies that he is worth persisting with.
