‘Talks underway’ - Birmingham City swoop for £1.5m Rangers target with 20 goal involvements this season

Birmingham City have reportedly opened talks to sign Peterborough United winger Kwame Poku on a free transfer.

Blues are already preparing their summer transfer business after securing promotion from League One to the Championship with six games to go. Chris Davies’ side have also wrapped up the title, so the focus can well and truly shift to getting the squad in shape for the return to the second tier.

One area Birmingham could do with strengthening is out wide as Davies has had to play attacking midfielders as inverted wingers for much of this season. Kieran Dowell and Willum Willumsson have enjoyed decent spells on the right flank, for instance, but it’d be handy to have another Keshi Anderson type to inject some pace and flair.

Poku, set to be available as a free agent from July 1, could be the man to end Birmingham’s winger search. Football Insider reports Blues have opened preliminary talks with Poku’s representatives in an attempt to strike a deal early, before any rivals can perform a hijack.

It’s claimed Poku has rejected a club-record contract offer from Peterborough as he seeks to move on to pastures new. Birmingham, capable of gazumping other teams financially, are bound to offer Poku more than what Peterborough can afford. No transfer fee will be due, but it’s reported that training compensation will be payable as Poku is under the age of 24.

How would Kwame Poku fit in at Birmingham City?

A low-risk signing due to the lack of transfer fee, Poku could not only plug a hole for Blues but also turn out to be an important player.

It’ll be difficult for the Ghanaian to make the step back up to the Championship after three seasons outside the second tier, but he has shown signs of real quality in League One. His first season as a regular starter, 2022/23, didn’t exactly go to plan as he only scored four times in 37 games, but the 2023/24 campaign that followed saw a return of 11 goals in 37 outings.

Poku has built on his successful 2023/24 with an even better 2024/25 as he has 12 goals and eight assists to his name from 24 League One appearances. The 23-year-old, predominantly a right winger, likes to cut onto his favoured left foot and would likely be fielded in that role if he were to make the move to St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.

The Peterborough man showed Birmingham fans signs of what he can do at Wembley Stadium as he dazzled with his pace and flair on several Posh counter-attacks. Blues won’t look back at the Vertu Trophy final fondly due to the 2-0 defeat, but the two meetings with Peterborough in the space of a week did allow Davies and co to see Poku in the flesh.

In other news, Birmingham chairman Tom Wagner let loose with an X-rated rant after the defeat at Wembley. Read on to see what the American said to the players.