Birmingham City considered ambitious move for ex-Aston Villa player | OneFootball

Birmingham City were interested in Anwar El Ghazi, but the attacker is instead going to join Mainz.

Who is Anwar El Ghazi?

Most fans in England will be aware of the forward, as he made over 100 appearances for Blues’ bitter rivals Aston Villa, whilst he also had a loan spell with Everton.

However, the 28-year-old was most recently with PSV, but he left the Dutch club this summer after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract after falling down the pecking order.

Birmingham had been keen on Anwar El Ghazi

With El Ghazi a free agent, he wasn’t restricted in terms of which club he could join, and The Athletic has revealed that Birmingham were keen on signing the former Netherlands international, although he is now set for Bundesliga.

“Former Aston Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi is closing in on a move to Bundesliga club FSV Mainz 05. The 28-year-old spent last season at PSV Eindhoven, but his contract was terminated by mutual consent as a number of clubs considered a move.

How would this move have gone down with the Birmingham fans?

Obviously, there is a real hatred between Blues and Villa, so El Ghazi would have had to win the supporters over at St. Andrew’s. Plus, he was a popular figure at Villa due to scoring some important goals, not least in the play-off final when they beat Derby County at Wembley.

However, many players have crossed the divide in the past, and El Ghazi wasn’t brought up as a fan, so there’s no doubt he would have been accepted.

Most Blues fans recognise that he would have made a big impact at Championship level, but it’s not to be, and you can understand why he is going to Mainz.

Do Birmingham need more attackers?

Successive defeats have slightly impacted the mood at Birmingham after their excellent start, but John Eustace will be pleased with how his squad looks.

Of course, there are areas that Blues need to address long-term, but they have enough numbers, and they will be in a position where they are looking to add quality over quantity.

El Ghazi would have fit the bill on that front, but you would imagine that they will now wait until the January window to make any more additions.

What next for Birmingham City?

The loss to Preston was disappointing for Blues, and Eustace will feel they merited at least a point from the clash, as there wasn’t much between the sides.

But, in the bigger picture, they have had a good start to the season, and he will be pleased with how a lot of the new recruits have settled.

Next up, they host QPR on Friday night, so it looks like a good opportunity for the side to get back on track, with the R’s sitting 20th in the table at this early stage.