Birmingham City at 'threat' of losing key player as rivals Aston Villa could play role in deal

Birmingham City and manager Chris Davies will know that they are not quite where they aim to be with an important second half of the Championship season approaching.

The Second City outfit sit in 14th place in the second tier after beating league leaders Coventry City 3-2 last time out in the league, having gone seven matches without a win to fall away from play-off contention.

The target for Blues remains to launch a late siege on the top six, but they may need significant help in the winter market in order to have the best possible chance of reaching the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Exits have been touted for the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi – who has been linked with a return to former club Celtic – as Blues look to free up space on the wage bill for new arrivals. They will hope to keep hold of a key defensive star, though, following reports of transfer interest in recent days.

Birmingham ‘concern’ over losing defender Phil Neumann this January

According to reports by Italian journalist Maurizio Russo relayed by Football League World, Birmingham are at ‘threat’ of losing defender Phil Neumann, who is reportedly a target for Sassuolo this January.

Neumann joined Blues on a free transfer from Hannover 96 just last summer and has appeared 20 times for Davies’ side this term, scoring twice and proving a solid addition at St. Andrews’ @ Knighthead Park.

Russo states that Serie A outfit Sassuolo are ‘considering’ a move for the 28-year-old, who previously spent eight seasons playing in the German second tier. Birmingham’s arch-rivals Aston Villa may ultimately play a role in the deal, as the Villans are targeting a move for Sassuolo centre-back Tarik Muharemovic, who is valued at €30 million (£26m) by the Italian side. Should the Bosnia & Herzegovina international depart, Sassuolo may be forced to act quickly to replace him and there is a ‘concern’ they may turn to Neumann.

Birmingham will hope to hold onto Neumann this month

It would be a huge blow for Birmingham if they were to lose Neumann mid-season, and even more of a bitter pill to swallow if Aston Villa were to play a part in his departure. While Russo claims that Sassuolo’s move for the defender is “not necessarily tied” to the departure of Muharemovic, it is clear that his sale would mean a replacement is needed for the Serie A outfit.

Only four players have played more minutes for Blues than Neumann’s 1765 in the Championship this term and following the recent departure of Eiran Cashin, whose loan spell from Brighton & Hove Albion was cut short, Blues are left with just three senior centre-back options and cannot afford to lose one of their key starting players.

The German is a force in the air and has also proven an important part of Davies’ system in terms of his ability to play out from the back. Though the club would no doubt earn a profit on a player they brought in on a pre-contract agreement, that would come as scant consolation if Davies was left short of options at the back. With their fate this season still very much in the balance, Birmingham will firmly hope to hold onto Neumann this window.