Birmingham City make positive start to transfer window
A look at an early ambitious start from BCFC.
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00:00Charlie, on to Birmingham City. Obviously a massive, massive summer to not only get
00:06a few names into the side but also to prepare for this Ligue 1 rebuild that could and they
00:12hope is going to happen. What's the latest you can tell us on the transfer front? Let's
00:16start with a bit of transfer news.
00:19It's been a promising start. Chris Davies has properly settled in. Pre-season has started
00:25at the beginning of July and they're getting some new faces already, which is good to see.
00:29The goalkeeping department was a massive area of concern because John Ruddy has joined Newcastle
00:34United upon the expiry of his contract. Neil Leatheridge was always going to leave. He
00:38was a high earner. He left Birmingham with no senior goalkeeper, but they have signed
00:42two already. They've got that out of the way. Ryan Allsopp from Hull City and then Bailey
00:46Peacock-Farrell from Burnley. Peacock-Farrell being a Northern Ireland international may
00:51be just squeezing in ahead of Allsopp, but I think there'll be an interesting debate
00:54as to which one's going to start. But having two top quality keepers in Ligue 1, I think
00:58is going to be a good basis for Blues at the back. There's also another signing to
01:03be made on the back line, this time as centre-back. Mike Urge-Huygens, I believe it's pronounced,
01:09playing in the Dutch league for Sparta Rotterdam. About £2 million he's going to cost. A very
01:14tall centre-back who can play out from the back pretty effectively. He's played fairly
01:18consistently in the Dutch top division. £2 million for a centre-back in Ligue 1 is pretty
01:24unheard of, but it just shows the kind of ambition that Birmingham have got as they're
01:28trying to build that solid basis, as I mentioned. Dion Sanderson, very committed to the club
01:32and hoping to get Birmingham back up to the championship. There's no worries about him
01:36going anywhere, so what a defensive partnership that could be. And then Alfie May, a very
01:40proven goalscorer at Charlton Athletic. I'm not sure exactly on the fee, but below a million
01:46pounds is what we're hearing. 23 goals last season in Ligue 1 for Charlton. Huddersfield
01:51Town looked as if they were going to sign him, but Birmingham have swooped in. So not
01:55only being ambitious, but also proactive in the market to make sure that they're ensuring
01:59they're getting these top players, not just back-ups.
02:00Obviously, you covered a lot of Birmingham City last season. The turmoil with the managers,
02:08all these different tactics and different names every week as well, whether that be
02:12the players and then that manager merry-go-round, as we say, that went on. What do you feel
02:19like the main area that needs to change in terms of Blues and what can Chris Davies address
02:26straight away to get those problems straight out there, straight resolved, and they can
02:30go and hopefully have a positive season?
02:33I think it's just that continuity and consistency with tactics. It was just chaotic last season.
02:38For me as a journalist, just covering so many different managers and speaking to so many
02:42different managers was difficult. But imagine being a player in that situation when you've
02:46got all the pressure of potential relegation and then obviously going down on the final
02:50day despite a win. It's just emotional turmoil for so many of them, especially the younger
02:55players who are breaking through and unsure about what's going to happen. But now they've
02:59got a fantastic manager who's ambitious, is committed. He's never had a managerial role
03:04before, so it's not like he's going to jump ship. I think Birmingham are going to be trusting
03:08in him and giving him some patience. Of course, playing against easier oppositions is going
03:12to help as well. Having the strongest squad in the division is going to help. Just getting
03:16that positivity back around the place and building on from the investment that the new
03:20owners have brought in. It should be a positive season and they've made a good start to the
03:24transfer business as well.