I thought with just under a third of the winter transfer window gone, it would be a good time to have a look at where Birmingham City are, and what to expect.

Firstly, transfers:

Probables:

David Bentley – the winger, signed by Spurs for £15mil in the summer of 2008 has, according to various media outlets, agreed to come on loan to Blues until the end of the season from Tottenham Hotspur. The latest word from the Birmingham Mail was that Bentley is due to have a medical this weekend. Many see this as the end of Sebastian Larsson’s BCFC career, with the Swedish wideman refusing as he has done for some time to sign a new deal, and speculation in the Mirror of a £1million move to Newcastle United. As a short term deal, I think Bentley is excellent acquisition, and certainly better than Blues have got. Taking him on loan also means that the club get a good look at him to see if his head is right and that he’s willing to do it for Birmingham. If the club are going to move Seb Larsson though I hope the club have an agreed price for the permanent signing set into the loan agreement.

Possibles:

Kenny Miller – again, it’s been reported by various media outlets that a fee has been agreed between Rangers and Birmingham City, which has been revealed by Colin Tattum to be £600,000 down rising to £1.1million. Rangers are willing to sell as they still have financial problems, and Miller is out of contract in the summer. However, the fact Miller is out of contract in the summer has massively complicated matters, with reports of Marseille and Fiorentina interested in taking the Scottish hitman on a Bosman free. I have to admit, the idea of signing Miller doesn’t inspire me at all – I don’t believe he did it in the Premier League for either Wolves or Derby, and I’m of the belief if the club is to sign a new striker, he has to be either better than at least three of our current ones – which I don’t believe Miller is – or he has to be young and have potential so that there is a resale value – which Miller won’t have, as he is 31.

Charlie Adam: Colin Tattum has reported in the Birmingham Mail that we’re interested in the Scottish midfielder, currently at Blackpool. Adam is also into the last six months of his deal, although Blackpool have a year’s option in their favour. The 25 year old midfielder has played very well this year, and as he was capped for the first time by Alex McLeish you’d think that Eck would probably have a good rapport with him. However, I don’t believe that central midfielder is a priority position for us at the moment, and I’m unsure as to why we’re looking to spend £2.5mil on a player when we already have plenty of talent in that position. Nothing has been confirmed yet, and as such all we know is that he is “on the radar”.

Other players:

Pablo Mouche: I have to admit I know nothing of this player, bar what I’ve read online. Apparently he’s a second striker/winger, who is available from Boca Juniors and according to some reports Blues are looking at taking him on loan. His stats aren’t impressive, and as his agent is Barry Silkman I have the suspicion McLeish’s interest amounts to having a DVD of Mouche’s talents sitting unplayed on his desk.

Charlie Austin: there have been reports of Blues linked with a £2million bid for the 21 year old Swindon Town hitman. I’m not convinced that Austin would immediately improve the team, but I would be more willing for us to take a punt on a player on the up, who looks to have some potential, who furthermore wouldn’t count when it came to the overage quota.

Players Out:

Nothing has been said yet, but with the possibility of three signings currently, at least two spaces will be required in the overage squad; which to me would mean that there may be an end to the Birmingham City careers of Larsson (as mentioned before), Michel, or Jay o’Shea. Marcus Bent isn’t in the 25, and I fully expect him to be continued to be left out.

I’ll look to update this again around the 20th.

Tags: Charlie Adam, Charlie Austin, David Bentley, Jay O'Shea, Kenny Miller, Michel, Pablo Mouche, Transfers