an initial £25 million. Karanka's first signing was defender George Friend, who rejected a contract extension at Middlesbrough in favour of rejoining his former manager. He was followed by midfielder Jon Toral, who was Birmingham's Player of the Season when on loan from Arsenal in 2015–16, wingers Iván Sánchez, fresh from helping Elche gain promotion to the Spanish top flight, and West Bromwich Albion's Jonathan Leko, the first signing for whom a feereported as £1 millionwas paid, goalkeepers Andrés Prieto and Neil Etheridge, and another former Middlesbrough player, midfielder Adam Clayton. After a loan spell in 2019–20 during which he scored seven goals in eight league games before lockdown but none after, Scott Hogan arrived from Aston Villa on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, and Mikel San José, a Spanish international midfielder or defender released after eleven years with Athletic Bilbao, signed for two years. In June 2020, the club announced a four-year partnership with Nike as supplier of kits, which carry the logo of the club's principal sponsor, Irish bookmaker BoyleSports. The home kit consists of a blue shirt with white collar, sleeves and trim, white shorts and blue socks. Birmingham played four pre-season friendlies: at home to Charlton Athletic, Leicester City and Walsall, and away to Tottenham Hotspur. EFL Championship September–October After 16 winless matches in all competitions, Birmingham City's Championship campaign began at home to Brentford on 12 September. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, no fans were present. The team lined up in new head coach Aitor Karanka's preferred 4–2–3–1 formation. In goal, making his Football League debut, was the 19-year-old Zach Jeacock, selected in place of the injured Andrés Prieto and ahead of the newly arrived Neil Etheridge. Captain Harlee Dean partnered George Friend in central defence, with Maxime Colin and Kristian Pedersen at full back. Ivan Šunjić and newcomer Adam Clayton occupied central midfield, with Jérémie Bela wide left and Iván Sánchez, making his first appearance in English football, wide right. Jon Toral played behind last season's Player of the Season and top scorer Lukas Jutkiewicz, who had been injured throughout pre-season. Although the visitors hit the woodwork twice and might well have been awarded a penalty when Pedersen appeared to pull down Pontus Jansson, Birmingham's organisation and apparent team spirit were much improved from the 2019–20 version, and the only goal came after 37 minutes when Sánchez whipped in a corner and