{"id":302073,"date":"2025-07-29T20:12:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T20:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/302073\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T20:12:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T20:12:12","slug":"birmingham-city-target-completes-8-5m-transfer-after-outscoring-florian-wirtz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/302073\/","title":{"rendered":"Birmingham City target completes \u00a38.5m transfer after outscoring Florian Wirtz"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With Kyogo Furuhashi, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Tommy Doyle now calling St Andrews home, the extent of Birmingham City\u2019s pulling power cannot be questioned any longer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolves loanee Doyle snubbed Premier League interest<\/a> in favour of making the short trip to the Second City from the Black Country.<\/p>\n

Former Queens Park Rangers flyer Osayi-Samuel returns to England\u2019s second tier after deciding to leave Jose Mourinho\u2019s Turkish powerhouses Fenerbahce. <\/p>\n

Kyogo Furuhashi, meanwhile, swaps Champions League football with Celtic in 2024 for Championship football with Birmingham City<\/a> in 2025.<\/p>\n

Two forwards based in Spain\u2019s top-flight have been linked too. Girona\u2019s ex-Aberdeen hitman Bojan Miovski is a reported target<\/a>, while EFL Analysis <\/strong>have been informed that Deportivo Alaves talisman Carlos Vicente is one to watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"ShutoPhoto by Koji Watanabe\/Getty ImagesBorussia Monchengladbach sign Birmingham City target Shuto Machino<\/p>\n

Birmingham City were linked with Shuto Machino<\/a> by Give Me Sport<\/a> at the end of June.<\/p>\n

He was one of the breakout talents of German football last term. Machino scored 11 times in 23 starts despite Holstein Kiel\u2019s relegation from the Bundesliga, more than the respective tallies put up by RB Leipzig duo Xavi Simons and Lois Openda, plus Liverpool\u2019s new \u00a3116 million record signing Florian Wirtz.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s eventual \u00a38.5 million move to the Borussia Park outfit.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Gladbach confirmed the signing of the eight-time Japan international this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cShuto is a versatile striker who can feature in a number of different positions, which provides us with various options in attack,\u201d Roland Virkus, Borussia\u2019s managing director for sport tells the club\u2019s official website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe proved last season that he is capable of hitting double figures for goals in the Bundesliga. We are delighted that he\u2019s chosen to join Borussia.\u201d \u2028<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to join Borussia, which is why I\u2019m delighted that the move has now gone through,\u201d Machino would later explain. \u201cNow, I want to do everything I can in order to help the team as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlos Vicente talked up as Birmingham eye Alaves and La Liga wideman<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Despite the arrival of Osayi-Samuel and Demarai Gray\u2019s emotional return to St Andrews from Saudi Arabia, Chris Davies and co appear to still be in the market for adaptable forward options.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\u2019s praises<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh I love watching Carlos Vicente. I think he\u2019s fantastic,\u201d former Manchester United and Tottenham attacker Gibson said on El Tel and Jon\u2019s La Liga Weekly podcast<\/a> this month. \u201cIt would be a bitter blow to Alaves if they lose him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould 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]\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cHard-working, a great attitude, necessary skill needed\u2026 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.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Kyogo Furuhashi, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Tommy Doyle now calling St Andrews home, the extent of Birmingham City\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302074,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,12905,748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-302073","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-birmingham-city","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114938350487252723","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}