Birmingham City star wanted for transfer after just 84 days as target faces uncertain future

Birmingham City could face a battle to keep one of their January signings amid an uncertain future for one of their transfer targets.

Paik Seung-ho joined Blues in January on a free transfer after leaving K-League outfit Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. The 27-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal that will keep him at St Andrew's until 2026.

He’s played a lot of football since arriving and has adapted well to a new country. The 15-cap South Korea international has started 13 of the 16 games that he has played in, impressing Mark Venus and Rowett.

A report from Football Insider however says that Sunderland, who Seung-ho chose Birmingham over are 'plotting' a new move for him. A 'fresh pursuit' is said to be coming and it could all hinge on whether Gary Rowett’s side stay up or not.

The club are in danger of dropping out of the Championship and despite picking up four points from their last two games, they dropped in to the bottom two after Sheffield Wednesday's win over Blackburn Rovers.

Birmingham must now win against Huddersfield Town who look all but destined to be relegated, while also getting a positive result against Norwich City. It's extremely tight at the bottom, and any one out of Stoke City, QPR, Blackburn Rovers, Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham or Huddersfield could go down.

If Birmingham do stay up then they could potentially revisit one of their former targets, who is currently at Sunderland. Callum Styles was linked with a move to the Midlands in January but ended up joining the Wearside club on loan from Barnsley. The Hungarian international however is unsure whether Sunderland will pursue him on a permanent basis when the 2023/24 season concludes.

“I’ve had no discussions,” said Styles after the defeat to Millwall at the weekend.

“I’m just focusing on football, that’s for other people to discuss.”