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League One Ace’s £6.5m Valuation Shows How Hard Birmingham’s Search Will Be

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There are a few fans out there who thought that a move for Peterborough’s Jack Marriott wouldn’t be out of the question this summer.

We were reportedly after him in the January transfer window, and his form continued to be superb throughout the campaign with 33 goals in 56 appearances for the Posh.

The Sun has however reported that the 23-year-old will cost about £6.5m this summer. A significant fee in the Championship but for a League One forward, that is a hefty sum indeed.

Players have not always made the grade after scoring goals by the bucket load in the third tier. Wigan’s Will Grigg and Millwall’s Lee Gregory to name but two. In Marriott’s case, he has only had one prolific season in League One, hitting over 20 for the first time in his career last campaign.

So, his asking price is over-inflated, to say the least. There is said to be a lot of interest in the player which could account for the steep fee, but if this is the market rate for players of his calibre, Garry Monk is going to have a hard time of it finding the type of quality no.9 we desperately need.

Especially considering the implications of Financial Fair Play, it’s going to be very interesting to see how we do in our search for a poacher. None of our strikers reached double figures last season, and if we are going to compete at the right end of the table, the manager will likely see this as a top priority signing.

Whether Marriott’s fee is symptomatic of the type of market the Blues will have to compete in this summer, we’ll have to see. Whatever the case may be, we’ll have to be very smart in our scouting to get what we want.

Garry Monk’s a smart man in the transfer market. Along with his scouts, he will have assessed his targets down to the fine details. The amount of talent on the market is finite, but I am hoping we find a hidden gem, especially if even League One forwards are being sold for small fortunes.

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