Lewis Koumas scored his first goal for Birmingham City against Coventry last weekend
Birmingham City loanee Lewis Koumas
Birmingham City loanee Lewis Koumas
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Lewis Koumas could yet complete his loan at Birmingham City after enjoying his ‘best day’ in Royal Blue against Coventry City.
The 20-year-old winger netted his first Blues goal in last weekend’s 3-2 victory over league leaders Coventry to ignite what has been a disappointing loan spell.
Fresh from a Championship loan at Stoke City in 2024/25, where he registered five goal contributions, Koumas joined Blues with the lofty ambition of reaching the Premier League.
Chris Davies hand-picked Koumas over more experienced wide options and showed plenty of faith in him early on.
Koumas started against Leicester, Swansea and Coventry in his first month at Blues and he got the nod to play against Preston in October – a game that yielded Blues’ last away victory.
But he didn’t do enough during those starts to warrant another one in the three months before Blues hosted Coventry.
The form of wingers Demarai Gray and Patrick Roberts confined Koumas to the bench and, speaking just last month, Davies didn’t sound overly optimistic that Liverpool would allow him to finish his loan.
A calf injury to Gray, which will keep Blues’ talisman out until February, has changed things for Koumas.
The left-wing position is currently his and everyone inside Blues’ camp is hoping that his goal against Coventry is a springboard rather than a false dawn.
“With Lewis, I was speaking to him about needing that moment,” said Davies. “He needed that goal to be the catalyst to really kick on at the club.
“To be fair to him, he hadn’t had a lot of chances to do it because he’s been out of the team and just coming on for little bits, but to play, to start, to score in a game like that was a big moment.
“I’ve spoken to Lewis and he was really pleased with the day, his best day for us, and it’s a case of, ‘OK, let’s go from there and get ready for the next match’.”
There’s every chance Gray will waltz his way back into the XI when fit. The 29-year-old was bang in form before his injury and Davies has only benched him twice this season.
Koumas might have Cambridge, Swansea and Stoke to stake his claim.
Davies added: “We’ll keep open-minded on it, as Lewis will, as to how it develops through January. He’s got to be confident he’s getting the game time here and the opportunities here, as have Liverpool ultimately, and we’ve got to be really happy with Lewis and everything in that sense.
“What I will say is he’s had a massive impact on a big game and, as an attacking player, that’s all you can do.
“I’m pleased with him and focused very much on the present, which is the next match, and I’m sure he is too.”
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