Birmingham City

Richard Wilford
BBC Radio WM

Image source, PA Media

Tom Wagner's entrance was initially only noticed by those closest to the director's box as the Blues chairman eased down the steps to his front-row seat.

Once the rest of the crowd spotted the American, there was a huge roar - this was a long-awaited moment.

The toll his illness has taken on the 57-year-old was plain to see, with a prominent scar on his head and his left arm sporting a sling.

His presence in the stadium mid-recovery was nonetheless significant, serving as a sign that Knighthead's ambitious plans for the club can reasonably be assumed to be on track.

The club's owners are not a one-man band. But Wagner is the figurehead, the charismatic presence and the man capable of influencing political and business leaders.

His return to St Andrew's was inevitably emotional, borne out by almost tearful tributes paid by goalscorer and record-signing Jay Stansfield in his post-match media duties.

Everyone involved with Birmingham City needed to see Tom Wagner. And he knew that.

Adam Cottier
BBC Radio 5 Live reporter

Image source, Shutterstock

It was a captivating game of football: a full-throttle local derby.

More than eight years on from their last meeting, Birmingham and Wolves went toe-to-toe with great vigour. The stadium was full, voices were loud and the emotion was felt as Birmingham's co-owner and chairman Tom Wagner returned to St Andrew's to a marvellous welcome from the home fans.

And what joy there was around him when Jay Stansfield scored in spectacular fashion - only his third goal since last November.

Jackson Tchatchoua's own goal was comical and Adam Armstrong's late miss was arguably even worse of a blunder. So yes, there was some fortune, but anything less than a point would have been tremendously harsh on Birmingham.

They maintained their unbeaten run with an aggressive performance, unlucky with their own chances, especially in the second half when they had more about them than Wolves.

When I last saw Birmingham they produced a drab showing, losing at Derby near the end of last season, a game where they waited more than an hour to have any sort of attempt at goal.

Now they seem to have added an extra layer to their approach. Centre-backs Christoph Klarer and Phil Neumann are a real presence in both boxes. James Beadle in goal made a splendid save when Wolves were 1-0 up - a crucial point in such a chaotic match. And Liam Millar looked a real livewire on his debut.

I know from speaking to a lot of Birmingham fans that manager Chris Davies has divided opinion - but my impression is that Blues are continuing to make progress.

St Andrew's was really buzzing on Sunday lunchtime, inside and outside the stadium. A far cry from the days a few years ago when a fair amount of the seating areas were closed for renovation, with the club bound for its short stay in League One.

Image source, Opta

Birmingham City welcome Wolves for the first West Midlands derby between the two sides for eight years on Sunday (12:30 BST kick-off).

Blues are unbeaten in their opening four Championship games, albeit just one of those was a victory, while they have drawn the other three.

Wolves suffered their first defeat of the season on Tuesday night, going down 4-2 at West Ham but Cesar Peixoto's side remain near the top of the table in fourth position at this early stage of the campaign before the weekend's action begins.

• This will be the first season in which Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers will face in the league since 2017-18, when Wolves completed a Championship double over their rivals.

• Wolves are looking to win three successive league games against Birmingham City for the first time since December 1999. They have also won their past three league visits to St Andrew's.

• Birmingham are unbeaten in nine league games (W4 D5), their longest run in the Championship since February 2020 (10).

• Wolves have won just one of their previous 23 away league outings (D6 L16), losing 4-2 at West Ham last time out.

• Wolves' Jose Sa is without a clean sheet in any of his past nine league starts – he is one of two goalkeepers to concede over two goals more than expected according to Opta's expected goals on target model (2.1) in the Championship this season alongside Burnley's Max Weiss (3.4).

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Hull City winger Liam Millar is having a medical at Birmingham City ahead of a loan move.

The 26-year-old had interest from Stoke City and Preston North End.

Tigers boss Sergej Jakirovic did not rule out an exit before the deadline, despite Millar's winner at Coventry City on Saturday which earned Hull a second win from their opening two Premier League games.

Canada international Millar was understood to be open to a return to Preston after spending 2023-24 on loan at Deepdale, but he is now due to move to Birmingham.

He moved to Hull from Basel in August 2024 and has made 53 appearances, scoring five goals for the club.

Image source, Getty Images

Transfer deadline day is upon us and today is the final chance for your EFL club to finalise any business until January.

The transfer window closes at 23:00 BST, so we might have some late night scrambles to get deals over the line.

There has already been plenty of movement this summer and whether it's a busy or quiet day for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our EFL deadline day live text coverage throughout the day here

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Birmingham City have made an offer for Ipswich Town forward Anis Mehmeti. Blues' Championship rivals Wrexham are also understood to be interested in the 25-year-old. (Pete O'Rourke), external

Find more of Friday's EFL gossip here.

Wrexham and Birmingham City have opened the Championship season with two draws apiece.

It is 47 years since Wrexham have managed a league win against Blues.

• Wrexham are winless in all four of their meetings with Birmingham City since their most recent promotion to the Football League (D2 L2), despite going 1-0 ahead in three of those games.

• Birmingham City are unbeaten in each of their past seven league games against Wrexham (W4 D3), since losing their first ever Football League match against the Dragons in October 1979 (0-1 away).

• Wrexham are unbeaten across their past six home league games played on a Friday since their return to the Football League in 2023-24 (W4 D2), though did draw 1-1 with Birmingham during that run in October last year.

• Birmingham are unbeaten across their past seven Championship matches (W3 D4), drawing their past three in succession - not since February 2020 have the Blues drawn four matches in a row.

• Jay Stansfield has recorded three goal contributions across four league games against Wrexham while playing for Birmingham (two goals, one assist) – his joint-most against any side for Blues.