Oxford United complete surprise acquisition of Birmingham City star in blow to Blackburn Rovers

Oxford United have confirmed the sudden signing of Birmingham City forward Siriki Dembele for an undisclosed fee.

The former AFC Bournemouth man departs Blues following just over a year at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. Dembele was occasionally a bright spark for Birmingham but wasn’t able to display the consistency required to fully integrate himself into Chris Davies’ plans.

This news comes as a blow for Blackburn Rovers, who were understood to have held initial talks with Blues over a potential deal for Dembele as John Eustace was keen to reunite with his former colleague. Swansea City, meanwhile, expressed an interest earlier in the summer.

It was revealed exclusively by Birmingham World earlier on Thursday that Blues had decided to let the winger depart. Davies twice made U-turns on Dembele, originally opting to keep him after he impressed in pre-season but later realising other attackers were higher up in the pecking order.

There have also been concerns for some time over Dembele’s work rate, picked up especially by Tony Mowbray during the 60-year-old’s short stint in charge of Blues. “I called him in for a one-on-one because I was a bit concerned during one of the early training sessions as he didn’t want to run," Mowbray described in January.

"One of his first comments was that he’d like to conserve energy to damage the opposition. I said, ‘Well, that ain’t ‘gonna work mate. What, we have 10 men when we haven’t got it and then you come alive when we attack?’ I think he bought into it,” Mowbray joked.

Davies, who demands a high-intensity from his forwards, appeared to have stamped out the concerns over Dembele’s mindset during his initial few weeks in charge. This late change of heart indicates there was yet another shift in opinion, however.

Dembele racked up 38 appearances for Birmingham in all competitions, scoring six goals. The Ivorian’s last outing was on the opening day of the new League One season, in the 1-1 draw with Reading.