Birmingham City face Phil Neumann exit concern - Aston Villa could play part in deal | OneFootball

The German defender is reportedly attracting interest from Sassuolo

Birmingham City are reportedly facing the threat of losing German centre-back Phil Neumann, just six months after his pre-contract move to St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

That is according to Italian journalist, Maurizio Russo, who claims that Serie A outfit, Sassuolo, have taken an interest in signing the commanding defender in the current winter transfer window.

It is set to be an extremely busy period in this part of the Second City between now and the transfer deadline of Monday, February 2nd, with Blues still harbouring ambitions of reaching the Championship play-off places under Chris Davies.

After what had been an extremely dismal run of form in December, it was revealed that the Blues boss is under no pressure from American ownership group, Knighthead Capital Management, amid reports that he was potentially facing dismissal in B9, and this was followed up by a timely and statement victory against second tier leaders and West Midlands rivals, Coventry City, last Sunday.

The success against Frank Lampard's Sky Blues ended a seven-game winless run for Birmingham, who climbed up to 14th in the standings, and are currently seven points behind Watford with 19 games of their league campaign still to play.

Regardless, the current window was, and continues to be, viewed as critical for Blues if they are to mount a late bid for promotion through the post-season lottery, and they have already been extremely active in the market thus far.

Indeed, Neumann was joined by compatriot and former Philadelphia Union full-back, Kai Wagner, in defence against Coventry, with the 28-year-old putting in a stellar debut performance, whilst Emil Hansson departed for Excelsior Rotterdam and Eiran Cashin linked up with Blackburn Rovers after his loan switch from Brighton and Hove Albion was cut short.

Changes to Davies' defence, as well as other areas of his squad, have been mooted, with Football League World exclusively revealing that as many as eight departures could be sanctioned between now and the close of business in three weeks' time.

Whilst five of those came in the form of potential permanent exits, Neumann was not shortlisted amongst the quintet, and it would be even more of a crushing blow for the B9 club if their bitter rivals, Aston Villa, played some form in an exit for the 6"2 figure.

It has been well-documented that Birmingham fought tooth and nail to pursue Neumann's signature across a prolonged period of time, initially seeing a transfer move blocked by his former employers, Hannover 96, in the summer of 2024.

However, an eventual deal would be finalised for the 28-year-old this time last year, although 'Die Roten' sporting director, Marcus Mann, took aim at Birmingham for the timing in which they confirmed the imposing defender had struck a pre-contract agreement that saw him officially confirmed as a player for the Championship side on July 1st.

Since then, the Herten native has gone on to feature in 20 of Blues' 26 league outings thus far, scoring twice through well-taken headers against Preston North End and Southampton.

However, just months into his contract at St. Andrew's - the length of which was not disclosed - Neumann is already attracting interest, with the aforementioned Sassuolo monitoring him closely, as per Russo's fresh update via X.

Sassuolo are currently 11th in Serie A under the management of Fabio Grosso, and are seeing their prized asset, Tarik Muharemovic, become the subject of exit talk at the Mapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore, with a whole host of Premier League and Italian sides targeting the Bosnian ace.

Russo states that his potential departure is not necessarily linked to their admiration of Neumann. However, one club interested in Muharemovic are Unai Emery's Villa, who are on the lookout for further depth in a bid to return to the UEFA Champions League next season, as they currently sit in third in the Premier League, six points behind leaders, Arsenal.

Sassuolo reportedly value the defender at €30m and maintain a 'not for sale' stance.

Birmingham City cannot afford to lose Phil Neumann so quickly

It has become obvious as to why Neumann's signature was heavily courted by Davies, as he has slotted seamlessly into Blues' defence alongside Christoph Klarer and, at times, Jack Robinson.

The German has been a strong force when it comes to winning aerial battles, as well as having the ability to help bring the ball forward from the back in his side's possession-based style.

It would be a huge blow for Blues to lose his services so soon, even though they would be making a profit, as the Blues boss has already struggled in terms of defensive depth so far this season due to injuries and suspensions.