Birmingham City have seven transfer alternatives to Kwame Poku in pursuit of new winger
Birmingham City are looking to strengthen their wide positions this summer
Birmingham City are scouring the market for alternative right-wingers to Kwame Poku after growing frustrated in their pursuit of the out-of-contract former Peterborough United player.
Poku can sign for a club of his choosing and there are plenty of options. The winger's agent has apparently fielded interest from 26 clubs at home and abroad and they are whittling it down to decide on his next home.
Peterborough are happy for Poku to join Blues as it would guarantee them good money for a player who won't turn 24 until mid-August. If Poku heads abroad, which seems likely as things stand, Posh will get minimal compensation.
Blues have grown tired of waiting and are now assessing other targets. So, with that in mind, here are seven options that fit the bill...
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi
You can’t not appreciate Rak-Sakyi’s body of work at 22. The winger has excelled in League One and the Championship, and even has some Premier League appearances to his name with parent club Crystal Palace.
It has been suggested the Eagles are ready to cash in on Rak-Sakyi after a loan at Sheffield United in which he scored seven Championship goals and they won’t be short of takers.
Ben Doak
Doak enjoyed an excellent debut season on loan at Middlesbrough in the Championship and made a name for himself with Scotland before injury halted his progress in January.
The 19-year-old winger made 10 goal contributions in 21 league starts for Boro and they struggled to cope without his directness post-January.
Liverpool will likely loan him out again next season to a team that is challenging at the top-end of the Championship.
Tom Fellows
While Fellows wouldn’t give Blues the explosive speed they crave in the wide areas, he would give them plenty of quality. The 21-year-old created more goals than any other player in last season’s Championship with 14 assists and managed four goals of his own too.
Fellows comes from a family of Blues fans so it’s a move that would make sense in terms of location – but West Bromwich Albion would no doubt demand a big fee.
Fellows has two years remaining on his contract and Premier League suitors, putting Albion in a strong negotiating position. Blues would be entering club-record fee territory on this one.
Tyrhys Dolan
Like Poku, Dolan will soon become a free agent when his contract at Blackburn Rovers expires. The Ewood Park outfit have offered him a new deal but Dolan is understandably exploring his options after a stellar season.
Dolan scored seven goals and registered six assists in the Championship last season, playing off the right flank, and has an excellent availability record in his relatively short professional career.
Dolan won’t turn 24 until December, meaning his next club – if it’s an English one – will have to agree a fee with Blackburn to avoid a tribunal.
Jeremy Sarmiento
Few players under the age of 23 have two promotions to the Premier League on their CV but Sarmiento has achieved that with loans at Ipswich Town and Burnley in the past two seasons.
The Ecuadorian winger was often used as an impact substitute by Burnley boss Scott Parker last season but featured 35 times in the Championship, scoring four goals.
Unless an opportunity is forthcoming at parent club Brighton next season, now could be the time for Sarmiento to part ways with the Seagulls and find a permanent home. Given Sarmiento’s age, profile and status as a 24-cap Ecuador international, he is exactly the sort of player Blues should be looking for – but he wouldn’t come cheap.
David Brooks
Wales international Brooks, now 27, has rebooted his career in the past two years after overcoming Hodgkin’s lymphoma and helped Bournemouth achieve their best-ever Premier League points tally last season.
But he only started nine Premier League games for the Cherries and reports suggest he could wind up in the Championship again this summer.
St Andrew’s saw what Brooks is capable of in the Championship in March last year when he inspired Southampton to a dramatic 4-3 victory.
Not only did Brooks show his creative powers with a wonderfully weighted pass to set up Adam Armstrong, he showed a touch of Premier League class with a whipped finish into the bottom corner from 20 yards shortly after half-time.
Davies has talked about Blues needing to ‘cause chaos’ in the final third and Brooks is a player capable of doing that.
Oliver Antman
Further afield is Finnish winger Oliver Antman who enjoyed a superb season with Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie last season.
Blues paid a lot of attention to the Eredivisie last summer and signed three players with mixed success. Willum Willumsson was a hit for half a season, Alfons Sampsted was in and out, and Emil Hansson was largely out (injured).
Whether they will throw their money at the Dutch league again is up for debate, but Antman's numbers make him an interesting option. Six goals and 15 assists in 32 games for a side that finished seventh in the Eredivisie is good going.