Birmingham City have been one of the big-spending sides in the Championship since winning promotion and now appear to be on the verge of announcing a new deal.
Birmingham see off Cambridge in FA Cup thriller
The FA Cup weekend is a great distraction from league work, but Birmingham’s indifferent form has left them at the back of the play-off race, leaving Chris Davies with questions to answer in January.
Interestingly, Blues striker Kogo Furuhashi has been the focus of attention from his former club Celtic, who were keen to sign the Japanese international on loan for the second half of the campaign.
Despite the Scottish Premiership holders opening talks over a move, the Birmingham marksman opted to remain in the Midlands and started Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Cambridge United, scoring a valuable goal in the visitors’ 3-2 win.
In his post-game speech, Chris Davis paid tribute to his team for creating much-needed momentum after a trying period, saying, “I told the players today was all about ‘Can we build that momentum with win after win?'”
“We had a great win last week, and today we continued that with another win and felt that winning feeling on the bus back to Birmingham. We got it.”
One loss in five games is closer for Birmingham. Either way, this has been a frustrating season and there is still a lot of football to be played before we can truly consider what constitutes a period of success for the newly promoted team.
Davis, who is looking to bring in new players, may have found what he’s looking for after scouring the market for more depth to help his team.
Birmingham to sign Abdouli Mane
According to GIVEMESPORT’s Neal Moxley, Birmingham are set to finalize a deal for Mjarby attacker Abdouli Mane and are expected to arrive at St Andrews to put pen to paper within the next 24 hours.
In a move that is likely to see Luis Koumas sent back to Liverpool, Mane can play on either flank, scoring 11 goals and providing four assists in 59 appearances for the Swedish side.
Birmingham to compete with Crystal Palace in race to sign ‘impressive’ AFCON winger
He would be an upgrade to Kyogo…
Mane has also scored three goals in four appearances for the Gambia national team, and can play on the flank or even as a centre-forward if required.
It remains to be seen whether the 21-year-old, who brings pace and versatility to the final third, will move straight into the starting XI or will need an initial break-in period before becoming fully active under Davies.
With the arrival of Kai Wagner, Birmingham will be adding new talent to their squad and could be in a position to move up the table.
