'Contract offered' - Birmingham City, Sunderland and Celtic race to sign 12-goal attacker

Birmingham City have tabled a contract offer for Peterborough United winger Kwame Poku but reportedly face competition from 25 clubs.

Blues are determined to land Poku and have already presented a big-money deal to sign him when his Peterborough contract expires this summer, Birmingham World understands. Technical director Craig Gardner has been trying his best to convince the winger make the move to St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park but it’s not straightforward with so many other teams keen.

In a new update from Give Me Sport, 26 clubs have contacted Poku’s representatives so far, including Sunderland, Sheffield United, Celtic and Rangers. Blues could find it tricky to beat Sunderland in particular as the Black Cats will be in the Premier League next season following their Championship play-off final triumph.

That isn’t stopping Birmingham from trying their best, however, and Peterborough director of football Barry Fry, Blues’ former manager, hopes Poku will ignore interest from elsewhere to sign for Chris Davies’ side. As the winger is under the age of 24, Peterborough will be due a compensation fee – but only if Poku’s next club is in this country.

What could Kwame Poku offer Blues?

One of Birmingham’s priorities in the upcoming summer transfer window is to sign a new winger as Davies was, at times, a little light in wide areas. Emil Hansson and Scott Wright didn’t hit the ground running as hoped and the lack of a right winger meant Willum Willumsson and Kieran Dowell had to play slightly out of position.

Poku, utilised on the right by Peterborough, can play on either side or even as an attacking midfielder. That versatility is appreciated by Davies and Blues’ hierarchy believe Poku would slot straight into a new-look best starting lineup.

Birmingham fans managed to have a good, close look at Poku at Wembley Stadium as Peterborough won the Vertu Trophy final. The winger didn’t net under the arch but he was clinical in League One, scoring 12 goals and providing eight assists in 27 appearances throughout 2024/25.

As mentioned previously, however, it won’t be easy for Birmingham to land Poku with so many top clubs vying to sign him. After all, it’s not often a player of his calibre becomes available on the free agents’ market - at least at Championship level - so he’s a man in hot demand.

Poku is yet to make a decision and more talks are expected to take place with Birmingham, as well as plenty of other teams, before his contract expiry on June 30. It’s a saga to keep a close eye on, but Blues shouldn’t hang around hoping. Instead, Gardner should - and probably will be - take a look at alternatives in case Poku decides to move elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Blues are understood to be eager to sign a new goalkeeper as Bailey Peacock-Farrell hasn’t met the standards expected of him. Ryan Allsop won the League One Golden Glove but Birmingham are keen to bring in another shot-stopper to provide fierce competition. Read on to see who Blues could target.