Luke Turner looks at the big finances Blues are competing against…
Competing in the Championship is tough enough without having to work with limited finances and seeing others spend millions of pounds on new talent.
With Newcastle, Aston Villa and Norwich all coming down from the Premier League, it doesn’t make it any easier for clubs like Blues to compete with their finances.
Our situation is slowly getting better but that, by no means, is suggesting that we can go out and buy a £10m striker.
When you look at Newcastle and see the money they are already splashing around, it makes you wonder how anyone else can compete with that.
The Magpies have brought in Dwight Gayle for £10m and Matt Ritchie for £12m in recent weeks. Add to that the quality they already have from last season and everything points towards them running away with the league.
But, as we all know, it isn’t that straight forward. Derby County have proved that spending £20m+ in the summer doesn’t guarantee you promotion.
Blues have just spent a reported £300,000 on signing Ryan Shotton from Derby and I think we are all relatively pleased with the addition.
In comparison, our local rivals, Villa, have spent £3m on bringing in Tommy Elphick to help shore up their defence.
There is obviously a huge difference in the prices paid there for both players but it’s on the pitch where it really all counts.
Recently, teams like Leicester and Iceland have shown that money isn’t everything and, to a point, I agree with that.
Anyone can beat anyone on their day and it’s now up to the teams like Newcastle and Villa set the pace and show that they have spent their money wisely.