Birmingham City praised for high-profile QPR transfer miss - it's 'the best bullet dodged' | OneFootball

Kwame Poku was heavily linked with a move to St. Andrew's ahead of the current season

It has been well-publicised that Birmingham City have conducted several eye-catching transfer moves under the ownership of Knighthead Capital Management and the management of Chris Davies, as the club look to return to the Premier League as soon as possible.

Whether Blues will achieve back-to-back promotions from League One, through the Championship and into the top-flight for the first time in 15 years ahead of next season remains to be seen, as Davies' side are currently in the thick of a remarkable battle for the play-off places with one third of the campaign still to be played.

A recent run of strong results and performances in between two 3-0 defeats on the road at the hands of Watford and Millwall certainly got supporters at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park believing that a top six push was back on after an initially inconsistent first half of the season which saw them languishing in 17th and closer to the relegation zone after the loss at Vicarage Road on New Year's Day.

However, it is fair to say that one of the main reasons behind a relative upsurge in fortunes has been the successful, yet busy, winter transfer window which Birmingham were able to conduct.

After a handful of the 14 players recruited in the summer received mixed initial reviews, six new faces were added to Davies' ranks, as well as a multitude of exits made by players on the fringes of the starting lineup such as Willum Willumsson and Lyndon Dykes.

However, whilst it remains to be seen how impactful those dealings will be in the season's final stretch, it is also fair to suggest that Blues, and their supporters, will be glad that they dodged a serious transfer bullet in the summer after their record-breaking season in League One.

That is certainly the verdict of Football League World's Birmingham City fan pundit, Jason Moore, who has praised the ownership for not being swayed into a hefty deal for Kwame Poku, who has endured a frustrating start to life with divisional rivals, Queens Park Rangers, instead.

Birmingham City praised for dodging Kwame Poku transfer bullet amid initial Queens Park Rangers woes

Poku, of course, became the subject of interest from many clubs this time last year due to his consistent performances for Peterborough United, which coincided with the fact the Ghanaian was out-of-contract at the Weston Homes Stadium.

The attacker certainly caught the eye of Blues chiefs last April, as he put in two strong performances against the Second City club in the space of five days, firstly netting a stunning effort in the 2-1 win which sealed Blues' promotion back to the Championship, before aiding Posh's unexpected EFL Trophy success against Davies' side at Wembley Stadium.

Football League World exclusively revealed afterward that Birmingham were prepared to offer Poku a £30,000 per week offer to move to B9 to fend off interest from Glasgow Rangers.

However, a deal would not materialise, whilst QPR fans certainly believed they had sourced a bargain deal by paying an initial £900,000 in compensation to sign Poku in Julien Stephan's first transfer window at Loftus Road.

Fast-forward eight months, though, and many would argue it is Blues who have emerged better off from this saga, as they didn't offer such a staggering wage, and have since recruited Patrick Roberts and Carlos Vicente, who have impressed significantly.

"That has to be the best bullet dodged by any club this season," Moore told FLW.

"The thing is, even when he has played for QPR, I don't think he's been that good. A massive bullet dodged.

"You look at the quality we've signed on the right-hand side in Roberts and Vicente, they're better players," he claimed.

"I'm really glad he hasn't come to us, because he's always injured. Your best ability is your availability, and he seems to be injured 24/7.

"I'm so happy we've dodged a bullet, and fair play to the recruitment team, because they've taken some stick this season," Moore added.

"I've said it before, 'don't be mugs and let yourself get treated like idiots'. I don't think they do, to be fair. If the deal's not there for them, they walk away and it's not the first time.

"I feel a bit smug that we've not brought him. QPR fans were raving about him being 'the next best thing' and he just hasn't been.

"Very happy about it, and with the right-wingers we brought instead of him."

Birmingham City will have no regrets over Kwame Poku transfer saga

As Moore alluded to, Blues will have no regrets over the non-signing of Poku, who hasn't been able to back up his 12 goals in 27 appearances for Posh last term, with several injury issues meaning he is yet to accrue 10 Championship outings for the Hoops.

Furthermore, Roberts was able to have such an impact after his initial loan switch from Sunderland that he is now a permanent member of the squad at St. Andrew's, whilst there has been an understandable hype around the recent acquisition of Vicente.

The Spaniard's direct nature has already seen him look a real threat for Blues, and it is clear why Deportivo Alaves were so reluctant to lose their key player last month.