Birmingham City poised to land tasty summer transfer budget boost as major deal edges closer

Birmingham City will want to bring in some new faces over the coming months. They will get the chance to sign some new players when the transfer window opens for business. The Blues will be looking to show what they are all about in the Championship next season.

The Midlands outfit are carrying momentum from their League One title win. Chris Davies’ side have breezed through the third tier in this past campaign. They won the league and went up automatically with Wrexham.

Birmingham City in line for Jobe Bellingham boost at Sunderland

According to a report by Ruhr Nachrichten, Borussia Dortmund have stepped up their pursuit of former Birmingham player Jobe Bellingham at Sunderland. The Bundesliga giants are said to have sent representatives over to England recently in an attempt to thrash out a potential summer deal. They signed his brother, Jude, back in 2020 and are hoping to sort a similar transfer now.

The Blues would be in line for a cash boost if an agreement was met. That is because they are said to have a 15% sell-on clause, as per the Daily Mail. Picking up a bit of extra money would possibly help boost Davies’ budget for the upcoming window which would be good news.

Bellingham, 19, rose up through the academy at Birmingham and was a regular at various different youth levels. He broke into the first-team in 2021 and went on to play 26 games. The England youth international was then lured to the Stadium of Light in 2023 and has since become a key player for the Black Cats.

Will former Birmingham City man Jobe Bellingham leave Sunderland?

Sunderland are likely to face a battle to keep ex-Birmingham man Bellingham. The North East club are in the play-offs and take on Coventry City at the semi-finals stage. If they don’t go up, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him move on. Bellingham has made 87 appearances in all competitions for the Black Cats so far and has found the net on 11 occasions. His move there has worked out well and he has enjoyed plenty of game time. His contract was extended until June 2028 back in August last year.

At the time, he said: “I’m buzzing to sign this contract and extend my stay at Sunderland. I feel like I have a lot of unfinished business and I believe we can achieve some great things this season. This is such an amazing city and I’m so proud to represent the people within it.

“Everyone has made me feel right at home and I couldn’t imagine playing for a Club where it didn’t mean as much as it does to our fans. I enjoy playing for Sunderland and I can’t wait to get back to the Stadium of Light this weekend.”

Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman added: “Jobe has fully immersed himself in Sunderland since day one and he has a clear affection for the area and the supporters. We always planned to extend his initial contract, but when a player performs so well in their breakthrough season, it is only natural for other opportunities to arise. Despite this, Jobe has been consistent that Sunderland is where he wants to be and his desire to remain at the Club is a big boost for us heading into our first home game.”