When Birmingham brought in Spanish frontman Alvaro Gimenez towards the end of the summer transfer window, hopes were high amongst Blues supporters that he could replace the void left by Che Adams following his departure to Southampton.
As reported on BBCSPORT at the time, 28-year-old Gimenez joined after the season’s opener at Brentford, sealing a reported £1.4m move from Spanish LaLiga2 side Almeria.
Having left Spain as last season’s top scorer in the second tier, Gimenez has struggled to hit the heights with the Blues, as both he and his team have struggled to score goals and generally lacked a cutting edge.
Gimenez has found the net just once in his eight games for the club so far, and though his work-rate and desire can’t be questioned, he’s not currently providing the necessary threat alongside Lukas Jutkiewicz in terms of shouldering the goalscoring burden.
As mentioned previously, Birmingham relied heavily on the forward partnership provided by Jutkiewicz and Che Adams last season as the pair complemented each other perfectly, forming a mix of pace, power, physicality and technical skill, scoring the goals which saw City stave off the threat of relegation comfortably in the end, finishing 17th.
The fact that Gimenez has been unable to ‘hit it off’ with his strike partner as of yet is not necessarily a slight on the Spaniard’s abilities. It may be that his characteristics and attributes are different to that of Che Adams – perhaps more technical but not so dynamic – and it may take a little more time for adjustments to be made and things to gel.
It could also be that the front two of Jutkiewicz and Gimenez would thrive better in a different tactical setup and a better, more frequent supply line from other areas.
It also, of course, takes time to adjust to playing in a new country. The different demands required, both culturally and professionally, often take some time to come to terms with, but ultimately, City need the frontman to find his form – and shooting boots – quickly as the Blues look to find some potency in front of goal, turn things around and move onto an upward trajectory once more.