Birmingham City fail in late transfer approach for EFL striker | OneFootball

Birmingham City suffered multiple blows on transfer deadline day regarding the signing of a striker, with the final one coming when a late approach for Cheltenham Town’s Alfie May was turned down, GloucestershireLive have reported.

The Blues were very keen to bolster their front-line, and had lined up prolific Chesterfield forward Kabongo Tshimanga, as first revealed earlier in the week by Football League World.

Despite agreeing a deal with the National League side for Tshimanga, who netted 24 times in 27 fifth tier outings last season before a leg break ended his campaign, an issue with the 24-year-old’s medical saw the transfer collapse late on Thursday evening.

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That sent the Blues hierarchy into panic mode, and that is when they looked to Whaddon Road to potentially find an alternative.

A deal could not be struck though between the two parties, meaning Cheltenham were able to hold onto a forward who notched 23 goals in League One last season from 46 matches, and left Birmingham without a centre-forward addition on deadline day.

The Verdict

Birmingham fans will no doubt be in disbelief that they have been unable to land a striker before the deadline.

If the Tshimanga deal didn’t drag on all day before its eventual collapse then maybe the recruitment team may have had more time to secure a different forward, but it was not to be in the end.

The Championship would have been a big step up for both May and Tshimanga, but Birmingham ended up with neither when they have been struggling for goals already this season.

There is always free agents to look towards, but with that pool looking small right now, John Eustace could have issues at the top end of the pitch for the next few months.