'Arriving in England today' - Birmingham City reach breakthrough in stunning £6m striker swoop

Birmingham City are reportedly on the brink of signing promising striker August Priske after reaching an agreement with Swedish top-tier side Djurgardens.

Blues have been in the market for a new centre-forward following the departure of Lyndon Dykes for Charlton Athletic. Chris Davies has wanted some more firepower up top for a while and could be about to get his wish as there’s now a significant update involving Priske, who has been heavily linked in the past few days.

Last season’s top scorer in the Swedish Allsvenskan with 18 goals in 27 appearances, Priske has attracted widespread interest from across Europe. The 21-year-old, a six-time current Denmark Under-21 international, has been linked with the likes of Red Bull Salzburg, Besiktas and LOSC Lille.

Birmingham see £6m bid accepted for striker

Following plenty of talks between the clubs, it appears an agreement has been struck and Priske is close to becoming a Birmingham player. Danish publication Tipsbladet reports Blues have seen an offer worth €7 million (£6m) plus bonuses accepted by Djurgardens.

If the report is to be believed, Priske is ‘arriving in England today’ to discuss personal terms with Birmingham and potentially seal his move to St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. The Dane is said to be keen on a move to the Championship and therefore there shouldn’t be any hitches.

Blues will remain tentative until Priske has signed on the dotted line, however, after missing out on another player from a Scandinavian league only last week. Davies’ side were let down in their pursuit of Mjallby forward Abdoulie Manneh as the deal fell through at the final hurdle.

How would Priske fit in at Birmingham?

If Priske were to join Blues, he would probably need some time to get up to speed as he has been enjoying some time off thanks to the spring-to-autumn schedule in Sweden. The Dane would then likely be integrated into the team slowly to adapt to English football, with a view to more regular minutes towards the end of this season and the start of next.

Standing at 6ft 4in, the promising striker would add some further physicality and aerial presence to Birmingham’s attack, similarly to Marvin Ducksch. Priske isn’t just a tall target man forward, though, as he is renowned for his sprint speed and ability to cause problems in the channels.

Birmingham could do with a boost as they are stuttering in the Championship, particularly away from home. Blues have won only nine of their 27 league games so far this campaign and are eight points outside the top six.

The play-off hopes are by no means over just yet, but Blues need to get a hurry on if they are to rise up the standings in time. Signing a new striker of Priske’s calibre could really aid Davies’ chances of succeeding, so many Bluenoses will be hoping the rumours are true.

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