Birmingham City join Derby County, Wrexham in £9m Ipswich Town transfer race | OneFootball

Anis Mehmeti has been heavily linked with a return to the Championship

Birmingham City have become the latest Championship side to express an interest in the services of Ipswich Town playmaker, Anis Mehmeti, in the final week of the summer transfer window.

That is according to the Daily Mail, with Chris Davies still looking to reshuffle his options throughout Blues' attacking department after a slow start to the competitive season and mixed fortunes in the summer market.

Birmingham have had an intriguing summer when it comes to predicaments both on and off the pitch, but have started their second campaign back in the Championship with successive draws against Sheffield United and Bristol City.

There were concerns raised over certain aspects of the performances in both of those games, and they only grew louder on Tuesday night when Davies' side were humiliated by Premier League outfit, Brentford, in the EFL Cup second round at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

Whilst the Bees still opted to field a rather strong lineup in comparison to Blues' rotated side, a 6-1 loss - the heaviest defeat of Davies' tenure - has sent alarm bells ringing over the depth and quality within the 41-year-old's current squad.

It has been no secret that Birmingham are looking to add an attack-minded midfielder in recent weeks, and they have now joined some potential play-off rivals in the race for the Albanian ace.

Birmingham City rival Derby County and Wrexham for £9m Anis Mehmeti, Ipswich Town deal

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Mehmeti has been one of the Championship's strongest creative forces on an individual basis for some time, initially shining with Bristol City before moving to Portman Road for a cut-price deal of just £3m in January.

After helping the Robins reach the play-offs in the 2024/25 season with 12 goals, the London-born man, who has five senior international caps to his name to-date, netted a further eight and provided six more assists before moving to East Anglia six months ahead of the expiration of his prior contract at Ashton Gate.

Mehmeti then scored twice in his first 18 Championship matches for Town as they returned to the Premier League at the first time of asking, but after a change of head coach in the form of Gary O'Neil, as well as Ipswich's high-profile permanent move for Julio Enciso, the 25-year-old has fallen down the pecking order.

Whilst not being involved in the 2-1 win over Sunderland on Saturday and in Tuesday's EFL Cup win over Leicester City by the same scoreline, Derby County and Wrexham were initially linked with a move for the versatile midfielder.

However, it has now emerged that Birmingham have entered said transfer race, although Mehmeti's current employers have reportedly outlined a £9m price-tag.

Birmingham City have been in desperate need for a creative midfielder this summer window

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In the first two league games of the season, Birmingham had been operating with Paik Seung-ho in an advanced role, which further showcases how much the 'number 10' has been a problem area for Davies in recent weeks and months.

Last season, both Jay Stansfield and Marvin Ducksch were utilised in said position too, but this at times hindered their involvement despite reaching double-figure goal tallies.

Blues have been heavily linked with other players who are capable of filling such a void, namely Joe Gelhardt and Cesar Gelabert, but after being criticised for not previously targeting players with high-level Championship experience in a bid for an eventual promotion, the addition of Mehmeti would tick several boxes at once.

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In recent seasons, we have seen Birmingham have a tendency to part with hefty fees to secure at least one marquee signing in the transfer market.

However, so far this summer, fewer bodies have arrived at St. Andrew's, whilst the cash hasn't exactly been splashed up until this point.

As such, this opens the door for the ambitious club to potentially go all-out for the services of Mehmeti, which they have been urged to do, in particular, by Football League World's Birmingham City fan pundit on several occasions.

That said, it is no real surprise that Ipswich are also looking to make a fairly sizeable profit on his services after just eight months either, with the playmaker under contract at Portman Road until June 2029.