Birmingham City Hit Stumbling Block In Pursuit Of £2.1 Million-Rated Ace

Birmingham City boss Chris Davies is keen to provide Ethan Laird with some much-needed competition on the right side of the defence, according to the latest reports.

The Blues have one of, if not the largest budgets ever seen in League One this summer as Davies looks to take the club straight back to the Championship in his debut season in the dugout. So far, the West Midlands outfit have pulled off some impressive pieces of business, acquiring the signature of the previous campaign’s top goalscorer Alfie May from Charlton Athletic for £775,000.

Furthermore, Emil Hansson has been brought to St. Andrew’s for a fee believed to be around £1.5 million, while Birmingham have also bolstered their goalkeeping department by signing both Ryan Allsop from Hull City and Bailey Peacock-Farrell from Burnley.

The most recent arrival at Birmingham City is left-back Alex Cochrane from Heart of Midlothian. BBC Sport reported that the Blues forked out a sum of £1.3 million with add-ons for the Scottish fullback who will provide worthy competition on the left side of the defence for Lee Buchanan’s starting berth.

However, Davies seems keen to copy this strategy over the on the opposite side of the backline. It was revealed last week by Sky Sports News that Birmingham are eyeing up a move for Sturm Graz’s right-back Max Johnston this summer but face competition from Championship clubs Oxford United and Luton Town.

Now, German journalist Florian Plettenberg has stated that the Blues are pushing to sign Hannover defender Phil Neumann this summer and launched a £3.4 million bid with add-ons for the 27-year-old. Unfortunately, Plettenberg added that the club’s hopes of securing his signature have been dampened as Hannover swiftly rejected this offer and are not willing to offload him just yet.

Neumann is an interesting player as he has primarily been a right-back throughout his career but excelled last season as a right centre-half in a three-man defensive line at the Niedersachsenstadion.

Writer’s View

Interestingly, Neumann still has one year remaining on his contract with Hannover and boasts a market value of £2.1 million, as per Transfermarkt, yet his current club still turned down an extra £1.3 million on top of his valuation.

Plettenberg stated that Hannover are not willing to allow him to leave this summer because he still has a deal with the German side. However, with 12 months left on his contract, this keenness to keep hold of him is surely waning. Birmingham City may just need to up the ante a little more to get the second-tier side to accept an offer which would be a good signing as his addition offers Davies the tactical flexibility to switch between a back three and four on cue.