Chris Davies opens up on heart-to-heart with Alfie May and ‘hardest’ Birmingham City call

Birmingham City have sold striker Alfie May to League One promotion hopefuls Huddersfield Town

Chris Davies says selling Alfie May was the ‘hardest’ decision he’s made as Birmingham City manager.
May was one of the most influential players in the Blues’ record-breaking League One season, scoring 16 goals and assisting nine times across all competitions, but the club is looking for back-to-back promotions and has signed a higher-caliber player.
Japan international Kyogo Furuhashi has joined the Blues from Rennes, and Davies already has Jay Stansfield at his disposal. Links to German target man Marvin Ducksch hint that another striker is also on the Blues’ radar.

May was keen for a shot in the Championship, but his chances of playing regularly at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park were minimal.
Opening up about May’s departure, Davies told BirminghamLive: “It was one of the most difficult decisions, or situations, I’ve faced since I’ve been here. I’d like to thank Alfie for his service to the club, what he did for our team, and how he worked for me as a manager.

“I’ve managed 60 games so far, and Alfie has played in 57 of them – more than anyone else – and he was a hero for us from the start of the season.

“He was a major player on and off the field. I had an open discussion with Alfie about the future and my respect for him. I said, ‘We would never push you out, and we appreciate you tremendously, but game time cannot be guaranteed due to some of the players we’ve signed, so it’s up to you. “Where do you want to go with this?”

“And Alfie is one who only wants to play football. That is why we all love him. He only wants to play and score goals. This is what he said to me.

“He knew that if he wasn’t going to be guaranteed that then he wanted to go elsewhere and pretty much every manager and chairman in League One was probably desperate for him to go there and Huddersfield got him.” He leaves with my deepest admiration and respect. I know the owners and members of the club place a high value on him.

“He will go down as a cult legend at the club, even if it was just for a year, but I believe it is an indication of our progress and direction. Alfie’s position demonstrates this.