Birmingham Legion FC
Image credit: Birmingham Legion
Birmingham's preliminary roster moves were announced on November 26, and they centered around players that would not be returning. That was followed by the announcement on December 3 that added veteran fan-favorites Jake Rufe and Enzo Martinez to the list of players that won't be coming back for 2026. That left Legion fans with a sizeable hole in their knowledge base - just who is going to be back as a foundation to build on? Today was the beginning of that answer, while it's not likely to be the whole picture. The players that will be back:
Trevor McMullen - GK
Phanuel Kavita - CB
AJ Patterson - CB
Ramiz Hamouda - CB
Sam McIllhatton - MF
Peter-Lee Vassell - MF
Tyler Pasher - FW
Sebastian Tregarthen - FW
There are notable absences for what we know so far:
Matt van Oekel - GK and GK coach. This is presumably a formality, as he's currently participating in Legion functions.
Fernando Delgado - GK. He could easily be a target for a transfer/fee.
Dawson McCartney - LB/MF. Losing him would be a tough one.
Sebastian Saucedo - FW.
Temi Ereku - CB. Temi's continued absence in any news is still a bit puzzling.
The players in limbo are presumably in some level of negotiation, as they're not definitively gone or staying. Additionally, three of last year's loanees are expected to be targets to sign permanently, but haven't been announced yet. Two of those - Samuel Shashoua and Amir Daley - were released from their parent MLS clubs and announcements for their signings would be expected to highlight each of them individually. The third loanee target is Ronaldo Damus, whose contract is with Swedish club GIF Sundvall. Damus’ loan is known to have built-in provisions for making the move permanent, but the Swedish league operates under European transfer windows. So, a Damus signing shouldn't be expected until early to mid January (if it does indeed happen).