Birmingham City made a wise choice in obtaining a second League One “specialist.”

Midfielder Keshi Anderson’s contract was extended by Birmingham City on Saturday night, which also disclosed the team’s released and retained list.

This summer, Birmingham City will be aiming higher than the average League One players. The Blues’ budget will remain robust despite the club’s drop to the third division, and Knighthead’s financial clout allows them to pay Championship salaries.

For this reason, it came as no huge surprise when Jonson Clarke-Harris, a goal scorer in League One with ties to the Midlands, moved up north to join Rotherham United earlier this week. This summer, Blues can strive a little bit higher.

However, their team still lacks some League One experience and expertise, thus it was a wise move to extend Keshi Anderson’s contract by an additional year.

Although Anderson was mostly a starter for John Eustace and Gary Rowett the previous season, he did show enough talent to be given another year now that the team is in the third division. In the closing stages of the season, he managed to keep Siriki Dembele and Juninho Bacuna off the team thanks to his game knowledge and commitment to work for the club.

Even if he only officially registered two assists and lost goals due to his tendency to shoot too late, it is obvious why it is important to maintain Anderson on the team. In comparison to the salaries that other players at the Blues have received recently, the 29-year-old is a skilled player on a quite modest contract.

He has also previously been promoted from League One. Anderson was a member of the Blackpool team that advanced to the Championship in 2021 through the play-offs. He kicked off their Wembley final victory, defeating Lincoln City 2-1.

After moving from Sunderland to the Blues in January, Alex Pritchard pretended to be dishonest, but he still has two years left on his deal to make amends. The 31-year-old midfielder is another player with a promotion from League One under their belt.

With four goals and nine assists in the regular season, Pritchard was a standout player for Sunderland in 2022–2023 before he helped the team overcome Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 under the arch to secure a spot in the Championship.

Another member of the Blues team has also destroyed League One in the past. However, considering how his first season at the Blues ended, it is unclear if Dembele will stay.

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Following Birmingham City’s confirmed departure, Jude Bellingham, Kevin Long, and Ethan Laird respond.

At the end of the 2023–24 season, Birmingham City released and retained a list on Saturday night.

Jude Bellingham, a superstar for Real Madrid and England, is one of the people paying respect to Marc Roberts following the confirmation of his departure from Birmingham City on Saturday night.

After seven years in the Second City, Roberts will depart Blues at the conclusion of his contract. The 33-year-old scored seven goals in 197 games for the Blues.

Following Blues’ announcement that Roberts will be one of the five senior players leaving the team this summer, the defender took to Instagram to share a heartfelt farewell message. Former and current Blues players gathered to show support for Roberts, who was the team’s second-longest serving player after Lukas Jutkiewicz, who was extended an opportunity to play for the Blues for a ninth season.

Bellingham, who was 16 at the time, spent a season with the Blues first team with Roberts. with response to Roberts’ parting post, Bellingham said, “Some man!”

Blues defender “Big brother, I’m going to miss you,” said Ethan Laird. Alfie Chang continued, saying, “All the best, legend,” after suffering a major knee injury that ended his season in August of last year.

Kevin Long, a former Blues defender, stated: “I hope Robbo enjoys whatever comes next.” Although Roberts and Long did not play together for the Blues the previous season, they developed a strong working relationship towards the conclusion of the 2022–2023 season, which enabled the team to win the championship. In February, Long was given permission to join Toronto FC and depart Blues.