With Kyogo Furuhashi, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Tommy Doyle now calling St Andrews home, the extent of Birmingham City’s pulling power cannot be questioned any longer.
Wolves loanee Doyle snubbed Premier League interest in favour of making the short trip to the Second City from the Black Country.
Former Queens Park Rangers flyer Osayi-Samuel returns to England’s second tier after deciding to leave Jose Mourinho’s Turkish powerhouses Fenerbahce.
Kyogo Furuhashi, meanwhile, swaps Champions League football with Celtic in 2024 for Championship football with Birmingham City in 2025.
Two forwards based in Spain’s top-flight have been linked too. Girona’s ex-Aberdeen hitman Bojan Miovski is a reported target, while EFL Analysis have been informed that Deportivo Alaves talisman Carlos Vicente is one to watch.
In the case of Shuto Machino, however, this was a target perhaps slightly too ambitious even for a Birmingham outfit with Premier League designs and the bite to match their bark.
A miss that will not dull the excitement at St Andrews, but a reminder that not every target is willing to drop down a tier.
Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty ImagesBorussia Monchengladbach sign Birmingham City target Shuto Machino
Birmingham City were linked with Shuto Machino by Give Me Sport at the end of June.
He was one of the breakout talents of German football last term. Machino scored 11 times in 23 starts despite Holstein Kiel’s relegation from the Bundesliga, more than the respective tallies put up by RB Leipzig duo Xavi Simons and Lois Openda, plus Liverpool’s new £116 million record signing Florian Wirtz.
And while a brace in a thrilling 4-3 victory over Monchengladbach counted for little in the end as Holstein Kiel finished 17th in an 18-team league, it did become a precursor for Machino’s eventual £8.5 million move to the Borussia Park outfit.
Gladbach confirmed the signing of the eight-time Japan international this week.
“Shuto is a versatile striker who can feature in a number of different positions, which provides us with various options in attack,” Roland Virkus, Borussia’s managing director for sport tells the club’s official website.
“He proved last season that he is capable of hitting double figures for goals in the Bundesliga. We are delighted that he’s chosen to join Borussia.”
“I really wanted to join Borussia, which is why I’m delighted that the move has now gone through,” Machino would later explain. “Now, I want to do everything I can in order to help the team as quickly as possible.”
Carlos Vicente talked up as Birmingham eye Alaves and La Liga wideman
That free-scoring streak, plus his ability to play through the middle or wide on the flanks, are two attributes which understandably appealed to the bosses at Birmingham City.
Despite the arrival of Osayi-Samuel and Demarai Gray’s emotional return to St Andrews from Saudi Arabia, Chris Davies and co appear to still be in the market for adaptable forward options.
The aforementioned Carlos Vicente certainly feels he has a skillset broad enough to thrive on English soil. A point Terry Gibson tends to agree with, as a La Liga expert sings the Birmingham target’s praises.
“Oh I love watching Carlos Vicente. I think he’s fantastic,” former Manchester United and Tottenham attacker Gibson said on El Tel and Jon’s La Liga Weekly podcast this month. “It would be a bitter blow to Alaves if they lose him.
“Would he leave Alaves to go to Birmingham? My guess is he probably earns more money at Birmingham than he would at Alaves. I think, if the deal is right [it could happen]…
“Hard-working, a great attitude, necessary skill needed… Over the last couple of years, he has become a bit of a favourite of mine. So good news [for Birmingham fans] if they get him.”