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Union Berlin Provide An Update On Birmingham Transfer

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Union Berlin have confirmed that Kristian Pedersen is on the verge of signing for the club.

The German side’s general manager Oliver Ruhnert told magazine Kicker that the deal is “not ready” to be finalised, but it looks set to go through soon.

It has been revealed that we triggered a release clause in the former Danish U21 international’s contract that allows him to leave a year ahead of the end of his contract in 2019.

Reports from Denmark said that the fee for the defender would be €2.3million, and that seems to be roughly accurate with Kicker stating the transfer will be “around €2.5m.”

Fans have been waiting impatiently for the signing of Pedersen over the last few days. Pictures on Twitter emerged purportedly showing the defender talking to Xuandong Ren and posing for pictures with the club scarf.

On Wednesday, we reported that the 23-year-old did indeed visit the stadium on Monday and the deal should be finalised shortly.

If the signing is completed, it looks to be a very smart first foray into the transfer market by Garry Monk. The defence is certainly something that needs shoring up, and we have been short of cover on the left-hand side.

Pedersen’s flexibility should come in handy too. He is very capable of playing as a wing-back in a 3-5-2, and if the manager chooses to switch from his trusted 4-4-2 next campaign then the Dane will be up to the task.

Once we have a new left-back through the door, I think the club’s next two priorities should be a striker and a goalkeeper. Especially if both Stockdale and Kuszczak have been given permission to leave, a new number one is vitally important, while we desperately need someone who can score at least double figures next season.

All in all, I think at least five signings in total are required, with a playmaker and another centre-back also being important additions. Of course, much will depend on outgoings on how much flexibility we will have to reshape our squad ahead of next season

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