Birmingham City 'hold talks' to sign £2m Scottish Premiership gem - but Rangers muddy the waters

Birmingham City have held talks over signing Rangers central defender Ben Davies on a permanent deal following his successful loan spell, Birmingham World understands.

Blues have already signed centre-half Phil Neumann from Hannover 96 and the German is expected to start alongside the imperious Christoph Klarer next season, but manager Chris Davies is eager to add further depth and quality.

Signed from Rangers last summer on a season-long loan, Ben Davies made a huge impact at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. The former Liverpool man played a bit-part role for Rangers in 2023/24 but didn’t lack any sharpness whatsoever as he became a Blues regular pretty much straight away.

By the time the season had come to a close, Davies had made 44 appearances across all competitions and racked up over 3,663 minutes. The 29-year-old was so excellent alongside Klarer that club captain Krystian Bielik was often left on the bench.

Birmingham hold initial talks to sign £2m defender

Davies made such a strong impression at St Andrew’s that Birmingham have held preliminary talks over signing him on a permanent basis, Birmingham World understands. The defender’s Rangers contract expires in June 2026 and it’s hoped Blues can sign him for a bargain, cut-price fee.

Birmingham won’t spend over the odds to bring Davies in for the long term but are willing to make a bid if given the green light by Rangers. That may not be for a while, however, as the Scottish Premiership giants have muddied the waters.

New head coach Russell Martin wants to inspect Davies in pre-season before any final decision is made regarding his future. The same can be said for attacking midfielder Kieran Dowell, who spent the second half of last term on loan at Blues alongside Davies.

That means Birmingham will have to be patient if they are to sign Davies, who has a current market value of around £2 million, permanently. As a result, Blues have drafted up a shortlist of alternative targets and will make moves to sign them instead if they are told Davies is not available.

Dowell and two Japanese stars also under consideration

After impressing with five goals and four assists in 19 League One matches, Dowell is also being considered for a permanent move. It’s understood Birmingham would rather sign Davies out of the two, however, with Dowell more of a backup option if other attacking midfield targets are not secured.

Gil Vicente’s Kanya Fujimoto is understood to be on Blues’ shortlist, ahead of Dowell. The 25-year-old former Japan U20 international scored five goals and provided six assists in 30 Liga Portugal matches last season. Nothing is advanced at this stage but that could change in the coming days and weeks.

Fujimoto isn’t the only Japanese player Blues are interested in signing as talks have been held Stade Rennais forward Kyogo Furuhashi. The former Celtic man only moved to France in January but he’s understood to be a genuine Birmingham target. Kyogo would be expensive but he’s a player with Champions League experience.