Birmingham City are still in talks with Fulham regarding a deal to bring Jay Stansfield back to St. Andrew’s this summer but are also weighing up a move for another centre-forward, according to reports.
It was revealed earlier this week by The Telegraph that the Blues were the frontrunners to acquire Stansfield’s signature after a successful loan spell last season in which he scored 13 goals and registered three assists in 47 appearances, although there was also interest from Championship sides Cardiff City and Hull City who are keen to bolster their attacking departments before the transfer window closes at the end of this month.
Despite Fulham boss Marco Silva stating earlier in the summer that he is keen to work with Stansfield in the first-team, the London club are close to agreeing a £6 million fee for the young striker which would make him the most expensive transfer in League One history, beating Will Grigg’s £3 million switch to Sunderland back in 2019.
However, the West Midlands side are not set to stop there. HITC are reporting that Birmingham City are keeping an eye on Beveren frontman Goduine Koyalipu after he scored 16 goals last season in Belgium’s second tier, winning the league’s Golden Boot award.
Furthermore, the outlet are claiming that the Blues face competition for the Central Africa international from Sunderland who have made the number ‘9’ position a priority this summer after struggling for goals in the previous campaign.
Meanwhile, Chris Davies’ side also brought Alfie May to the club earlier in the transfer window for a £775,000 fee after he finished as the top goalscorer in England’s third tier but the new head coach is keen to add strength in depth to his frontline by acquiring both Stansfield and Koyalipu as the latter can also play in the wide areas which offers the manager flexibility with his lineups.
Writer’s View
It will be incredibly interesting to see how Birmingham City line-up once the new season kicks off next week, particularly with the inclusion of May and potentially Stansfield and Koyalipu. Nonetheless, signing the 24-year-old is not a necessity right now.
While the Blues have the money to spend, they have plenty of depth upfront and it’s likely that Koyalipu will be forced to act as a third-choice option behind both May and Stansfield should he move to St. Andrew’s. Additionally, Siriki Dembele is still in the squad and can play out wide as well as through the middle. As a result, this money could be better spent elsewhere.
The spending restrictions in the championship are much more stringent so the idea is to buy players that will blow away league 1 and be already in place in the second tier therefore not affect the FFP next season in the championship. Of course anything other than promotion would be a disaster.