Exclusive: Birmingham City to submit £3.5m+ bid

Birmingham City are preparing an improved January bid for Hannover centre-back Phil Neumann, sources have told Football Insider.

The League One outfit had a £3.4million offer knocked back by the German outfit during the summer transfer window, but remain keen on bringing him to St Andrew’s in the new year.

The Blues are now planning a new bid in the upcoming window as they look to strengthen their push for promotion back to the Championship.

Birmingham enjoyed a free-spending summer which saw them break the league’s transfer record on multiple occasions, and are keen to continue in that vein.

Centre-back has been highlighted as a key area for improvement despite Chris Davies’ side having conceded just 11 goals in 12 games so far.

Neumann, 27, has continued his strong form for Hannover in the 2. Bundesliga, having featured in all 11 of his team’s league games so far this season.

As a result, he is expected to be the subject of an improved bid from Birmingham as they step up their attempts to bring him to England.

Birmingham City line up improved bid to sign Hannover star Phil Neumann

Birmingham spent around £30million in the summer transfer window in an attempt to all but guarantee their return to the second tier.

This included the at-the-time record signing of Willum Thor Willumsson, which was then topped by their deal for Christoph Klarer, and blown out of the water by the arrival of Jay Stansfield.

Now, they sit top of League One, having won nine of their 12 league games so far, with only one defeat in that time which came away from home against Charlton.

Despite their heavy summer spending total, they are expected to continue spending freely in the January window as Davies remains keen to improve his side.

The current pairing of two summer signings Klarer and former Rangers man Ben Davies has been the first-choice pairing at St Andrew’s so far this season.

However, there is a growing feeling that the squad could still be strengthened at the back, and they are now looking to up their bid for long-term target Neumann to strengthen their push for promotion and the title.

In other news, Tom Brady sent a one-word message to Blues fans.

For more Birmingham City and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.

The post Exclusive: Birmingham City to submit £3.5m+ bid appeared first on Football Insider.