Faddy may cost Birmingham £5M

Everton have reportedly rejected Birmingham City’s £3million bid for attacker James McFadden – though Alex McLeish could make a third offer for the Scotland international.

It has been claimed it would cost £5million to bring the 24-year-old former Motherwell man to St Andrews, and while the likes of Garry O’Connor think such a outlay would represent value-for-money, that valuation is still sufficiently far away from the club’s most recent offer to suggest it may not happen.

Scottish side Rangers are also thought to be in the hunt for the player, who captured the headlines by scoring Scotland’s winner against France at the Parc des Princes during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Rangers boss Walter Smith told the Sunday Express: “McFadden is a player we would be interested in.”

O’Connor was quoted by BBC Sport as saying: “If he came here he would score goals, as he has already done in the Premier League, and at national level, and he would be a great success and help the team. I think it might appeal to him. There’s a lot of people after his signature but I think if we stump £5m up we would get him.”

Meanwhile, 18-year-old defender Krystian Pearce has been recalled to St Andrews from Notts County after an apparent change of mind. County boss Ian McParland told his club’s official site: “We had spoken to Birmingham last week and he was due to stay here. But they have decided to take him back now. That is a blow for us.”

Pearce, who has yet to make his first-team debut for Birmingham, made nine appearances for Notts County since moving there in November, scoring one goal and picking-up a red card.