'Natural fit for the Premier League!' - Tom Brady told Birmingham 'can call themselves favourites' for Championship promotion amid big-spending summer and £3bn stadium plans

Having smashed all kinds of transfer records in League One last season, before going on to claim the third tier title in historic style with 111 points, more big money has been invested at St Andrew’s this summer.

Shrewd recruitment is considered to have Chris Davies’ side sat among the early promotion contenders, with a return to the top-flight being chased down after a 15-year absence. Big plans are being drawn up on and off the pitch, including the construction of a new 62,000-seater stadium.

Former Blues striker Heskey told BestBettingSites.co.uk when asked if the most ambitious of projects can deliver another promotion: "I’m sure Birmingham City can call themselves favourites to go up. That’s such a hard task to go straight from League One, into the Championship and then onto the Premier League at the first try.

"In their eyes, they will know they’ve spent a lot of money, and they have a new stadium on the horizon. They will know the timeframe they need to be in the Premier League by. I think this season might be too soon, but within the next five years, they will want to make it happen. They’re going to be a natural fit for the Premier League. I can’t wait to see the derby with Villa again."

Heskey added on record signing Jay Stansfield battling it out with ex-Celtic star Kyogo Furuhashi for Golden Boot honours: "I think that they will be the leading candidates to be the top scorer. That competition can be healthy, but only if they don’t play at the expense of each other.

"Kyogo and Stansfield need to pass to each other and help each other, and the scoring competition should be an afterthought. You want it to be healthy. Stansfield had 20-plus goals last season, and I think he’ll be looking not just to equal that, but get even more in the Championship."

The story of a memorable campaign in 2024-25 is being told in the new Prime Video documentary ‘Built in Birmingham: Brady and the Blues’ - with that series, which rivals ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, set to be released on August 1.