Tony Mowbray unveils plan for 'high quality' Birmingham City signing

Tony Mowbray has disclosed his ambitions for winter signing Seung-ho Paik, who he believes will become a key player for Birmingham City once fully up to speed.

The South Korean midfielder was signed on Deadline Day for free upon the expiry of his Jeanbuk Hyundai contract and he has already played thrice for his new club. Formerly of Barcelona, Girona and Darmstadt, the 26-year-old can play in an array of central midfield roles, providing Birmingham some much-needed versatility.

The 1-0 and 2-0 defeats away at West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday respectively were disappointing but the silver lining was the emergence of Paik, who became arguably Birmingham's best player when he was substituted on. Those cameos were then followed by a show-stopping hour or so on his first start – the 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Mowbray is impressed with what he's seen from Birmingham's new number 13. “He’s high quality. You watch him on the training ground and he picks the right pass most of the time, he turns away from pressure both ways off the outside of his foot or the inside of his foot," Mowbray told Birmingham World.

"He knows to leave passes soft for some players and to wrap them through tight gaps for others. He’s a good footballer who understands the game and so we needed to get him on the pitch. The combination with Dozzell, who’s a really good footballer as well, I think gives us a level of control.

"I need to look at him [as a regular starter]. He told me his last competitive game had been on December 10. We signed him right at the death. He came off the bench last week [at Sheffield Wednesday]. Rather than 20 minutes or 30 minutes I thought it was right to give him 60 minutes or 70 minutes," Mowbray explained.

Game time is set to be gradually ramped up for Paik, who is likely to play most fixtures when his match sharpness peaks. A South Korea international of 15 appearances and three goals, Paik, who scored against Brazil at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, has the potential to become a key cog in Mowbray's system.