Birmingham still chasing “quality” £16k-p/w star

For the first time this transfer window, the transfer activity in through the door at Birmingham City seems to have slowed down.

After all, in the space of just a week recently, Birmingham had managed to welcome in the likes of Demarai Gray, Tommy Doyle, Kyogo Furuhashi, and many other star names to the camp, with some calm perhaps now needed to balance the books appropriately.

Still, when it comes to Chris Davies and Co., there might well be another sublime addition just waiting around the corner at any moment, with Birmingham not giving up all hope just yet that they can resign this midfield ace very soon, among other targets being chased after.

Birmingham still pursuing move for EFL ace

Reports do seem to suggest that the Blues will have to move on some bodies to be able to finance some more high-profile captures, especially if they want to be successful in landing Hwang Hee-Chan up top.

It was recently revealed that Birmingham had their eye on the Wolverhampton Wanderers attacker, but the £14m fee required to win his services – on top of his potential steep wage costs – has rendered this a deal that will be difficult to get over the line right now.

There are more unwelcome obstacles in Birmingham’s way with other targets, too, with Kieran Dowell, who was expected to be surplus to requirements on his return to Rangers, now being utilised in pre-season under a fresh set of managerial ideas from Russell Martin.

A recent updated report from Birmingham Live does suggest that a permanent move could still be on the cards, with Davies once stating it would be “something we will have to look into” over arranging for the £16k-per-week star to come back to St. Andrew’s for good.

Whilst this has gone cold for the moment, Birmingham do have plenty of time on their hands to try and work out a deal, with Dowell perhaps a dream teammate for Kyogo to bounce off of as he grows accustomed to leading the line in the Championship.

Why Dowell could be a dream for Kyogo

Whilst the Japanese ace has proven himself to be a reliable goal machine in Scotland – as seen in his ridiculous tally of 85 strikes leading the line with venom for Celtic – he has never tested himself before in the challenging terrain of the EFL’s elite league.

Therefore, he could well be daunted by the prospect of having to be the Blues’ leading man here, particularly as he’s coming into Davies’ camp off the back of a barren spell in France with Rennes and the fact that he’s been purchased for a fee around the excessive £10m mark.

Those nerves would surely be quelled knowing he has the likes of such a reliable Championship playmaker in the form of Dowell by his side, with the second-tier veteran notching up a hefty 26 goals and 12 assists across his last 123 outings in the division. On top of that, 25 big chances have also been created, which will be music to the ears of a poacher-like forward in Kyogo.

At the height of his goalscoring powers at Celtic during the 2022/23 season, which saw him net a blistering 27 Scottish Premiership strikes, the potent 30-year-old would only need to average a mere 13.3 touches per league game to cause said widespread damage, meaning he should become even more prolific if he latches onto plenty of Dowell’s defence-splitting passes to come.

Whilst they used to be divided across enemy lines in Glasgow, both Dowell and Kyogo might well form a dream partnership in the West Midlands very soon, with Davies even going as far as to describe the 27-year-old as “high quality” last campaign when he popped up with four assists from just 17 League One starts.

He might well have only scratched the surface of what he’s capable of at St. Andrew’s with his promising loan stint, with the Championship more his bread and butter, as Birmingham aim to potentially bring him back to take their new division by storm.

Related

He’d be Kyogo 2.0: Birmingham looking at incredible deal to sign £14m star

Birmingham City could seal another ambitious deal very soon.