The fact that Seung-Ho Paik signed with Birmingham in January 2024 from nine-time K League champion
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC and made eighteen appearances before the team was eventually relegated from the Championship alongside Huddersfield Town and stoke city certainly surprised some Birmingham City supporters who did not think the team would keep him after relegation to League One last season.
The former Barcelona prospect did, however, leave a lasting impression on supporters during that time, and many anticipate that he will leave this summer despite the ambitious summer transfer window that has been led. On the same day that Blues secured the historic return of Jay Stansfield, Mike McGrath of The Telegraph reported that Blues had turned down last-minute offers from Championship clubs, with Leeds United and Sheffield United also expressing interest in Paik’s services.
Seung-Ho Paik, Birmingham City verdict The fact that two teams that will probably be vying for promotion to the Premier League this season both showed interest in Paik speaks volumes about his caliber, and the Blues should consider themselves lucky to have held onto him through the January transfer window at the very least.
Paik and several other Birmingham players are currently fan favorites, and the team is experiencing a newfound and much-needed sense of optimism.
In fact, Mike Gibbs, a resident pundit for Football League World who supports Birmingham, has noted that Paik has a high ceiling as a football player and expressed surprise that he did not move on to other pastures this summer.
Paik was the player with whom Football League World was most surprised, according to Mike. “You can tell just in the few games he’s played so far in League One that he’s way above this level and I think he’d easily fit into a Championship side. To be honest, I think he could play in the Premier League, so he’s the player that I was most surprised with,” Mike said.
“It’s surprising that he hasn’t moved on since he signed [Krystian] Bielik, who was also using it as a springboard to get back into the national side.” Player retention was a clear indication of Birmingham City’s intent to leave League One as soon as possible. Birmingham carried out a massive summer transfer window that included signings of Marc Leonard, Ben Davies, Willum Thor Willumsson, Alfie May, Emil Hansson, and Stansfield, among others, for a whopping £34 million.
However, an overlooked aspect of their goals is their capacity to hold onto key players. They have managed to keep players of Championship caliber like Bielik, Paik, and Ethan Laird with the team.
