Birmingham City in contention to beat Reading to 43-cap international | OneFootball

Birmingham City are currently considering a move for former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Massimo Luongo, according to a report from The Star.

The 29-year-old is currently a free agent after failing to put pen to paper on a new deal at Hillsborough this summer – but is yet to find a new club with the transfer window now closed. Thankfully for him, the free-agent market remains open throughout the year, potentially enabling John Eustace’s side to swoop in and secure a move for him.

However, they could be in a battle with the Royals to recruit him, with the Australian currently training with Paul Ince’s side, re-joining the Berkshire outfit after spending the early stages of pre-season on trial at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

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Former England international Ince is currently looking to bring in another midfielder but has Amadou Salif Mbengue on trial as well following the 20-year-old’s departure from Metz.

The Royals seem to be keeping a watchful eye over Luongo at this stage – but it’s currently unclear whether they will move to tie him down to a contract with a striker also on the second-tier side’s wishlist following the departure of George Puscas.

And that could enable Birmingham to swoop in, with the Midlands outfit in contention to secure the 29-year-old’s signature if the Royals decide against signing him.

The Verdict:

The Royals may benefit from having a more attacking midfielder than Luongo and this is the reason why it may not be the end of the world for them if they don’t manage to recruit him.

However, he has plenty of second-tier experience under his belt and he’s the sort of player that could potentially help the Berkshire outfit remain afloat in the division, so many of their supporters would welcome him with open arms.

Ince does need to make a decision on him sooner rather than later though, both for the Royals’ sake and for the sake of the player too and this is why it wouldn’t be a surprise to see further developments on this story soon.

You can understand why Birmingham would want to add him to their ranks – because he could be the more defensive player needed in the middle of the park to give the likes of Hannibal Mejbri and Tahith Chong the license to advance forward.

Luongo’s injury concerns in recent times may be a slight worry – but he’s a top-class player when fit and this is why he would be a good addition to both sides. It will be interesting to see who wins the race for him.