Birmingham City set for transfer blow as Premier League club swoop | OneFootball

The Bees have reportedly hijacked Blues' move for a highly-rated Ecuadorian youngster

Birmingham City have reportedly been gazumped by Brentford in the race to sign highly-rated Ecuadorian midfielder, Darwin Guagua.

According to an update from Ecuadorian outlet, MrOffsider, the 18-year-old had emerged on the radar of the West London side ahead of the new Premier League season, and it has since been claimed that a move to the Gtech Community Stadium is edging closer.

Birmingham, meanwhile, have endured a rather intriguing transfer window ahead of their second successive season back in the Championship under Chris Davies, with it being well-documented that American investors, Knighthead Capital Management are not afraid to splash the cash.

After two major squad reshuffles last season at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, the West Midlands side will be hoping to mount a much more sustained bid for the play-off places, and after an encouraging run of results in pre-season, they progressed in the EFL Cup first round on Saturday with a 1-0 away win against divisional rivals, Swansea City.

However, whilst many more of Birmingham's signings so far this summer are already known to an array of supporters in the Second City, a move for the aforementioned Guagua would appear to be a signing for the future, although a deal may not come to fruition after all.

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It was recently reported that Guagua's performances for Independiente del Valle, who currently sit top of the Ecuadorian Serie A with 61 points from 24 matches played, had been enough to convince Blues into striking a deal for his services, despite appearing to still be such a raw talent in the South American game.

So far this season, the versatile midfielder has produced 2 goals and as many assists in 16 league matches, but has also featured three times in the CONMEBOL Libertadores.

However, whilst it was not claimed what fee Birmingham would have been parting with to sign Guagua from Independiente, it was relayed by Sport Witness that a 2-0 win against LDU Quito "could be Darwin Guagua’s last match in Ecuadorian football," as per Omar Machado.

But, it has now been claimed by Area Deportiva FM, via X, that a move to West London and the Premier League for the teenager is "very close", whilst a transfer fee involving Keith Andrews' side was also yet to be disclosed.

Birmingham City fans may have been perplexed by Darwin Guagua transfer move as Brentford swoop

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Naturally, there is no real indication as to whether Guagua will play any part for Brentford if a deal is finalised in the near future, and only if the youngster becomes a success would those in the West Midlands feel a tinge of regret.

However, throughout most of Davies' tenure as Blues boss, the 41-year-old hasn't handed many first-team opportunities to those of a similar age within the club's academy setup, and those feats certainly split opinion when Aurelien Guernier recently departed the club to join AC Milan.

But, given Brentford's recent success through an adoption of the 'moneyball' system, the Bees will certainly hope they have unlocked another gem, even if he features more prominently in the club's 'B team' to begin with, much like former Birmingham academy graduate, Romelle Donovan, who moved to Sheffield United on loan last month.

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Whilst Birmingham continue to be linked with a plethora of names as the transfer window has just three weeks left to run, the five additions so far have certainly gone a long way to addressing some form of issues regarding quality, depth or experience.

The most eye-catching deal thus far has been the permanent acquisition of Jhon Solis from Girona, whilst Luis Vazquez joins a front line already including club-record signing, Jay Stansfield, Marvin Ducksch and the in-form August Priske.

Given the spending power the club have previously shown, it will be interesting to see what avenues Davies and the recruitment team in B9 explore between now and September 1st, and whether it includes any more 'hidden gems' akin to Guagua's current standing.