'That's the problem' - Birmingham City urged to scrap bold £10m transfer raid

Birmingham City are gearing up for life back in the Championship. They will be full of confidence after storming to the League One title last season at the first time of asking. The Blues are carrying some serious momentum under the guidance of Chris Davies.

The Midlands outfit have been busy on the transfer front so far this summer. They have made some eye-catching additions including Tommy Doyle, Kyogo Furuhashi and Bright Osayi-Samuel, among others. Davies has the chance to bring in some more new faces over the coming weeks.

Birmingham City warned about Mateo Joseph

Birmingham have been linked with a move for Leeds United striker Mateo Joseph in this window in a report by Give Me Sport. In this latest update regarding his situation, journalist Alan Nixon has said on his Patreon page that the Whites want a hefty £10million fee for his signature. La Liga pair Real Betis and Celta Vigo are said to be keen on him.

Former Football League player Lee Hendrie has warned the Blues about forking out that price tag and believes Jamie Vardy may be a better option. The ex-Aston Villa man has said, as per Football League World: “I think that would be a more likely fee for Birmingham. Obviously, the signing of Mateo Joseph, again bags of potential but he hasn’t really had a real solid run in the Leeds side.

“£10 million I think is a lot of money, there’s no doubt about that, particularly in the Championship. But you do feel that there’s always been a lot of talk of what potential this kid has and what he’s got. So, it does feel that Leeds will not be letting him go for much shorter than that.

“Yes, I think that would probably be, if you look at the (Jaime) Vardy situation, I think that would probably be more of a goer, particularly age-wise. And obviously the fight to get that number nine shirt, if you like, because I do feel that he needs to play football this season to prove that all this talk of him potentially being a very, very good player, which we’ve seen glimpses of.”

Who is Birmingham City-linked Mateo Joseph?

Joseph, 21, started his career with spells as a teenager at Racing Santander and Espanyol. He moved to Elland Road in 2022 and has since made 73 appearances for the Whites in all competitions, chipping in with six goals. The Spain youth international helped Daniel Farke’s side win promotion in the last campaign.

His future in West Yorkshire is up in the air now though. He is likely to find it hard to get game time in the Premier League amid competition for his position. Therefore, an exit may well make sense for him over the coming weeks. His next destination is unknown at this stage though.

Joseph’s contract at Leeds expires in 2028. Therefore, he still has a few years left to run down. Selling him would free up space and funds in their ranks to pave the way for reinforcements as they prepare for the step up to the top flight.