Opinion: The striker conundrum

Although Birmingham City manager Harry Redknapp may not voice his concerns that the club have missed out on one of their biggest transfer targets in the summer window in the shape of Lois Diony, plenty of fans will do that for him.

Despite Redknapp stating that he thought the club never really stood a chance of signing Diony, it was always nice to have that little bit of hope that the club were going in the right direction and that they could still attract someone like him.

Diony, 24, was one of the hottest prospects in France and following his recent move to Saint-Etienne, I feel as though some Blues fans are becoming a little bit disheartened by the lack of transfer activity from the club so far this window.

I myself have been a little bit disappointed by our lack of movement in the market to date but signing the leagues best goalkeeper from last season and one of the best centre backs shouldn’t be sniffed at.

Granted we have missed out on other targets but securing those two means that Redknapp and his staff can now firmly point their attentions to the other end of the pitch.

On the same day that Blues missed out on Diony, they also were reportedly snubbed by Lorient striker Benjamin Moukandjo with the Cameroonian claiming he didn’t want to move to the second tier of English football.

But with links to him being few and far between, I highly doubt the club were ever in for him in the first place.

With all that being said, Blues are still in he hunt for a striker and although Harry will be disappointed he hasn’t been able to bring one in before the squad fly off to Austria on Sunday afternoon, I am sure he is working very hard behind the scenes to get business done.

Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Robbie Keane and current Southampton youngster Sam Gallagher have both been linked with the club and out of the two I would much rather have Gallagher on loan but that doesn’t look like it is going to happen any more with the Saints likely to rebuff any loan move for the 21-year-old.

That then leaves Keane. The 36-year-old striker doesn’t exactly gets your taste buds going and that is understandable because he must be at the bottom of he pile in terms of our targets. After all, he is a has been.

Blues don’t need a striker like Keane to make an impact from the bench. The club have got Clayton Donaldson to do that next season. Blues need someone who can compete with Lukas Jutkiewicz and Che Adams next season and so far they haven’t found that.

If I was Redknapp (and I know I am not him), I would be putting aside all my previous experience with Keane and saying actually, it is time to leave the past in he past.

Blues are in desperate need of a young striker who either knows this division or has the ability to fit straight into Redknapp’s style of play whatever that may be next season.

It is going to be difficult for Blues to compete in the transfer market with the fees that have been flying around but I have faith that Redknapp will get something done.

At the end of he day…Harry is the king of getting deals done at the last minute.