The German left-back has joined Championship side Birmingham City after seven years in Philadelphia.
Kai Wagner was always expected to leave. And yet, he was never supposed to.
Almost nobody had heard of the 21-year-old left-back joining from 3. Liga side FC Würzburger Kickers in 2019. Yes, he had played for the youth teams of FC Augsburg, who have become an established Bundesliga side. Yes, he had played for Schalke 04 II, the reserve side of one of the biggest, well-supported clubs in Germany. People recognized the teams he had played for, but nobody knew Kai Wagner.
Over the next seven years, they would find out.
Kai Wagner never got the Germany call-up that I campaigned for, and he has never really gotten recognition in his home country, where MLS is rarely acknowledged as a top league. In the United States, though, Wagner has become widely recognized as one of, if not the best, left-backs in the league — no small feat when competition includes the likes of Jordi Alba.
Unlike many of Philadelphia’s hit signings in recent years, Wagner needed no time to adjust. He recorded six assists and established himself as a regular starter in his first season; in his second, he helped the Union win their first trophy, the Supporters’ Shield. In 2021, Wagner was named an MLS All-Star for the first time.
The next year, in 2022, he did it again, assisting eight regular-season goals and finishing as runner-up in the MLS Defender of the Year Award. The German almost showed up big in the MLS Cup Final, with his late free kick finding Jack Elliott to make it 2-2 against LAFC and take it to extra time. However, seconds away from victory, Gareth Bale scored to send the game to penalties, and Wagner — and both other Union players — missed their kicks as LAFC won.
The brutal loss didn’t slow Wagner down at all. In the three seasons that have followed, he’s recorded 33 goal contributions in all competitions — using standard stats, not MLS stats, which include secondary assists. Even in an ugly 2024 where the Union missed the playoffs, Wagner still shone as a rare bright spot. This year, under new manager Bradley Carnell, the Supporters’ Shield returned to Philadelphia, with the left-back again playing a pivotal role.
With the impressive performances came increased interest from abroad. Clubs from the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1, Championship, and Süper Lig were among those reportedly interested throughout Wagner’s time in MLS, and he often seemed to be leaning towards a return to Europe. It’s not every day that Gian Piero Gasperini or José Mourinho wanted a Philadelphia Union player, after all.
But every transfer window passed, and Wagner was still in Philadelphia. Except this winter, when the three-time MLS All-Star decided it was time to move on.
At 28, Wagner’s timeline for a big move was running out, despite his impressive form. Enter Birmingham City: a rich, ambitious, but struggling Championship side, and one in desperate need of cover at left-back. With heavy American connections, including minority investor Tom Brady — who hasn’t been this unpopular in Philadelphia since 2005 — getting involved, a deal was quickly done for a reported €2.3 million, per German reporter Florian Plettenberg.
It’s impossible to tell whether or not Wagner will be able to hit the ground running in Birmingham. The Championship is a very physical league, and it’s difficult to adjust to — as his former teammate Julián Carranza, who just had his loan with Leicester City terminated, can attest. He has the added challenge of joining midseason, giving him no break and jumping into the deep end with a struggling Birmingham side. But if he can do half of what he’s done in Philadelphia, he’ll be a hit.
Union fans should have been ready for Kai Wagner to leave. It’s been coming for a while, and that is the club’s model — sign, develop, sell, and then rinse and repeat. But this one is definitely going to sting. He’s one of the best players in the club’s (albeit short) history, and maybe the best. That’s not going to be easy to replace.
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Image via philadelphiaunion.com.
