Birmingham City have lodged an offer to sign a highly-rated defender this summer, and the Blues have already been given a reply in their pursuit.
Busy summer for League One Birmingham
Relegated from the Championship to League One last season, Birmingham have broken the transfer record for the English third-tier twice already this summer. The Blues are keen to return to the Championship immediately and have splashed out £12m to do so, signing 11 new players ahead of the new season kicking off.
Headed by a £3.5m move for defender Christoph Klarer and a £3.3m deal for Willum Willumsson (from Darmstadt and Go Ahead Eagles respectively) they have wasted no time handing manager Chris Davies one of the most expensive League One squads ever assembled.
Birmingham City summer signings
Player
Fee
Christoph Klarer
£3.5m
Willum Willumsson
£3.3m
Emil Hansson
£1.5m
Alex Cochrane
£1m
Ayumo Yokoyama
£850k
Ryan Allsop
£825k
Alfie May
£770k
Marc Leonard
£500k
Bailey Peacock-Farrell
£450k
Alfons Sampsted
Loan
Luke Harris
Loan
Transfermarkt
Alfie May has arrived from Charlton Athletic, while ex-Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday shot-stopper Bailey Peacock-Farrell has also been recruited alongside a move for Brighton youngster Marc Leonard.
It has been a slow start to the season despite these additions though; they needed a late May penalty to rescue a draw against Reading in their opening game at St Andrews, before edging past 10 man Charlton Athletic 1-0 in the Carabao Cup first round to set up a tie against Fulham.
However, they are still looking to strengthen further this summer, and have now tabled an opening offer for another defender.
Birmingham table audacious offer
That comes with reports in Portugal [via Sport Witness] revealing that the Blues have made a 3m euro (£2.5m) offer to sign promising defender Filipe Relvas, who is also wanted by top flight clubs across Europe.
The 24-year-old centre-back currently plies his trade for Portuguese top flight side Portimonense, and has been described by Football Analyst Ben Mattinson as a "6 foot 4 left centre-back with excellent technical ability" who would be a "quality low cost option" for sides around Europe.
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Birmingham were perhaps not the side he had in mind, but they have nonetheless pushed forward with a move. As per reports in Portugal, they have made a £2.5m offer for the defender, who still has two years left to run on his £2,400 a week deal in Portugal.
However, it is added that "this was immediately rejected by Portimonense, who seemingly want more" and know about interest across Europe. It remains to be seen whether Birmingham return for the defedner, with the report claiming tenuously that the third tier outfit "could be set to make a second" bid to take him to St Andrews.
Should they pull off a deal, it would be a major coup for Davies' side, with Wolfsburg having previously been linked with the defender. It would also take their spending in excess of £15m, and surely make promotion come the end of the season even more important for their financial security.