adminBig Spending vs Smart Building: What Birmingham City’s Record Transfers Mean for Oxford United’s Championship Plan
Birmingham City’s five record transfer deals including former Celtic and Fulham pair amid £7m La Liga ace pursuit
Birmingham City are in the hunt for more reinforcements before the end of the January transfer window
Birmingham City drew 1-1 at home with Stoke City over the weekend. Tomoki Iwata got their goal against the Potters. However, they weren’t able to get a win in the end and were forced to settle for a point.
The Blues are positioned in 13th place in the Championship table after 29 fixtures. They are four points off the play-offs behind Wrexham in 6th. The Midlands outfit are back in action this weekend against Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium.
Birmingham City’s top five record deals amid Carlos Vicente pursuit
Birmingham are poised to fork out a hefty £7million to sign Alaves winger Carlos Vicente. The Blues are set to land the La Liga ace in an ambitious deal. In the meantime, here is a look at their current top five record transfer deals, with fees via Transfermarkt…
• Ivan Sunjic, £6m
•David Dunn, £7.6m
•Kyogo Furuhashi, £7.8m
•Emile Heskey, £8.1m
•Jay Stansfield, £15.4m
Jay Stansfield remains Birmingham’s record signing ahead of Ivan Sunjic, David Dunn, Kyogo Furuhashi and Emile Heskey. They forked out big money to land the attacker on a permanent basis from Fulham in 2024 after their relegation to League One. He had previously impressed during his temporary stint and he has since scored 32 goals in 69 games.
As for Kyogo, his move to England hasn’t worked out yet, despite his recent goal against Sheffield Wednesday. He has struggled to make an impact with the Blues and hasn’t been able to find his shooting boots. The ex-Celtic man has been linked with an exit between now and the end of the January transfer window.
Who is Birmingham City target Carlos Vicente?
Birmingham will see Vicente as someone to bolster their attacking department. If he joined, he would give them more competition and depth at the top end of the pitch. In addition, he would provide them with something different going forward ahead of the rest of the campaign.
His manager Eduardo Coudet has recently said: “We’re a team that needs to work on movement and ball circulation. We lack that player who can dribble past opponents and create a goal from nothing. The closest to that role is Carlos Vicente, but he’s more comfortable moving wide than playing centrally.”
Vicente, 26, has made 25 appearances in all competitions this season, 21 of which have come in the league, and he has chipped in with 10 goals and three assists. He is under contract with his current club until June 2027 meaning he still has over 12 months left to run. However, it appears he will be moving on for a new challenge.
The forward started his career at Real Zaragoza and rose up through their academy. He was a regular at various different youth levels before leaving as a youngster. The Zaragoza-born man then embarked on spells in the Spanish lower leagues with the likes of Pobla Mafumet, Ejea, Calahorra and Racing Ferral before Alaves came calling for his signature in 2024 and he hasn’t looked back since.
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