Garry Monk suffers transfer blow as ideal Davis replacement snubs Birmingham interest

Birmingham City are one of two Championship clubs who have been forced to admit defeat in the chase for Hibernian’s Scottish international midfielder John McGinn, according to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon.

What’s the story, then?

Nixon claimed on Twitter that Blues boss Garry Monk, along with beaten play-off semi-finalists Derby County, held an interest in bringing McGinn south of the border but have been put off by the message that he would head to Celtic.

Reports swirling this summer have claimed that Hibs are holding out for £4m for the midfielder’s signature, which looks to be an achievable sum for a club in the second tier.

However, it appears as if McGinn’s desire to join the Bhoys is so strong that he will wait to run his contract down in order to move to Parkhead on a free transfer, and that strength of feeling has clearly put Birmingham off.

McGinn would have been a clear upgrade on Davis

David Davis has manfully filled in a number of midfield roles at St Andrew’s but he is not of the quality Monk needs if he is to mould this Blues squad into genuine play-off contenders.

The partnership between McGinn and Maikel Kieftenbeld would have been exceptional, packed with technical quality and energy, and able to provide the springboard for a top six push.

As it is, Monk is still stuck with a squad that has no clear identity and is unable to strengthen with just days until the start of the season.

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/2v2TJtF