Birmingham City`s transfer window has been hampered by their summer spending spree. Former manager Harry Redknapp and chief scout Darren Dein oversaw an overhaul of 14 signings in during the last window.
Manager Steve Cotterill has been left frustrated at his attempts to reshape his squad this month. Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules dictate that a club can only spend the equivalent of what it makes – however, Blues` parent company are currently operating at a loss.
Of those summer signings, Liam Walsh has returned to Everton (and since moved to Bristol City) and it`s highly likely that Carl Jenkinson and Cohen Bramall will shortly return to Arsenal as Cotterill tries to free up some funds. On top of that, David Cotterill has been released, Emilio Nsue was sold to APOEL and Stephen Gleeson is on the verge of a loan move to Ipswich Town.
Cotterill was bemused by the imbalanced squad he inherited when he was appointed back in October. After a summer of incomings, Blues were left with four right backs but only one left back and were inundated with central midfield players.
Cotterill`s focus is on a striker and a creative midfielder and he has also gone on record to speak of his desire for a left back to offer competition to Jonathan Grounds – even more so with Bramall set to return to North London.
However, interest in Cameron Jerome cooled before the striker`s eventual move to Derby County and the same can be said for Fleetwood`s Devante Cole.
The Blues manager remains keen on Derby`s Chris Martin but fellow strugglers Sunderland appear to be at the front of the queue for his signature. However, Derby`s passing interest in Blues keeper Tomasz Kuszczak could possibly be used as a bargaining tool even if that seems unlikely.
Undoubtedly, Blues needed to strengthen their squad in the summer but we can all ask the question as to whether 14 players were needed. A lot of money seems to have been wasted to the detriment of Cotterill and the other decision makers.
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