Troy Deeney: Birmingham City captain among six first-teamers leaving St Andrew's

Troy Deeney scored seven goals in 33 league appearances as Birmingham finished 17th in the Championship, nine points clear of relegation in 2022-23

Troy Deeney is one of six first-team players released by Birmingham City at the end of their contracts.

The Blues captain had been offered a new deal in March but will depart St Andrew's after two seasons, in which he scored 11 goals in 56 appearances.

Former skipper Harlee Dean is also among those going, having played his 200th game for the club in the final-day defeat by Sheffield United

Maxime Colin, George Friend, Jordan Graham and Kevin Long are also leaving.

The Championship club, who gave their "thanks to all departing players for their contributions across their time with Blues" also said talks were "ongoing with a number of released players".

Deeney, who is 35 in June, joined his hometown club on transfer deadline day in 2021 from Watford, where he spent more than a decade having started his career back in the West Midlands with Walsall.

During his time with Blues, Deeney moved more into radio and TV punditry with occasional appearances on Match of the Day.

Speaking at the time of being offered a new contract two months ago, Deeney said he was interested in a player-coaching role at the club and was "seeing how it looks", insisting it "was not about the money" but "more about time - it's a question of 'do you want to invest more time?' or do you go 'thanks, but no thanks' and move on to pastures new?"

Defender Dean was transfer listed by the club under former head coach Lee Bowyer in December 2021, but was given a fresh chance by current boss John Eustace this season.

But the 31-year-old's six-season stay at St Andrew's will now end after 16 appearances this term.

Birmingham have also taken up options to extend the contracts of Oliver Basey, Rico Browne, Tate Campbell, Tommy Fogarty, Nico Gordon, Marcel Oakley and Kieran Wakefield.

Krystian Bielik, Hannibal Mejbri, Reda Khadra, Dion Sanderson, Auston Trusty have all returned to their parent clubs - Derby County, Manchester United, Brighton, Wolves and Arsenal respectively - following loan spells.

All the departures come before the expected approval of American financier Tom Wagner's purchase of a 45.64% stake in the club by the English Football League and Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Earlier this month, the club were given a suspended two-point deduction by the EFL for rule breaches during an unsuccessful takeover bid.

The penalty is suspended until the end of the 2023-24 season.

'Deeney left vulnerable by Blues' drive to bring in younger players'

Analysis - BBC Radio WM's Richard Wilford

Although Birmingham's official statement leaves the door open for further negotiations with the outgoing players, there is a clear desire to freshen up the St Andrew's squad with younger players.

As things stand Deeney is a victim of that. He was one of three senior strikers on the club's books over the age of 30 and, with Scott Hogan and Lukas Jutkiewicz still in contract, that made him vulnerable at the end of his deal. The former Watford forward has been unlucky at his boyhood club, both seasons curtailed by injury at a time that he was looking close to his best.

Colin and Dean were among the higher earners left on the books, a legacy of a free-spending summer under Harry Redknapp. Both have battled hard for the club through numerous relegation tussles, and if this is goodbye they should leave with their heads held high.

The summer rebuild will be a significant one for boss John Eustace and technical director Craig Gardner. New owners wait in the wings, but recruitment will likely be done on a tight budget with Profit & Sustainability concerns still a factor.