Birmingham City should let Southampton win AFC Bournemouth transfer race | OneFootball

Birmingham City should let Southampton win the race for AFC Bournemouth's Daniel Jebbison this summer

Birmingham City will have its sights fixed on achieving promotion to the Premier League next season, as Chris Davies continues to strengthen the Blues' ranks ahead of a hugely important year for the club.

It goes without saying that Birmingham's ambition is to be a Premier League club as soon as possible.

The Second City outfit, under the ownership of Tom Wagner and Tom Brady, has begun plans to build a new state-of-the-art 62,500-capacity stadium, and has spent well over £50 million on the playing squad in the past couple of years.

This window alone, Jhon Solis has joined for £6 million after a successful loan, whilst Luis Vazquez joins from Anderlecht for around €3.5 million (£2.9 million), and Kristoffer Lund Hansen arrives from Palermo for an undisclosed fee to replace the outgoing Kai Wagner.

Elsewhere, James Beadle has returned to the club on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion, whilst Dael Fry joins on a free transfer from Middlesbrough, completing their business so far.

However, Davies is clearly not done adding new faces to his squad, especially in the final third despite the addition of Vazquez, but should let a division rival swoop ahead of them in the pursuit of a Premier League forward.

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According to the Bournemouth Echo, the likes of Birmingham, Southampton, and Wrexham have all expressed an interest in signing Bournemouth forward Daniel Jebbison before the end of the window following a successful loan spell with Preston North End last campaign.

Jebbison, 22, first moved to the United Kingdom from his native Canada in 2017, before joining Sheffield United's academy the year after, where he would progress through the ranks to make 29 first-team appearances for the Blades along with loan spells with Chorley and Burton Albion.

He'd move to the South Coast with Bournemouth in 2024, and would head out on loan to Watford shortly after, where he would struggle during his spell at Vicarage Road, and returned to the Cherries in January to provide competition up top for Eli Junior Kroupi and Evanilson.

His most recent loan spell in the Championship came with Preston North End, where, under Paul Heckingbottom, the Canadian scored six and assisted twice in 40 appearances across all competitions during his spell at Deepdale, and now, his immediate future is up in the air.

Daniel Jebbison has never been prolific in his career, as Birmingham City must avoid his signature

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During his time in professional football, Jebbison has never been especially prolific anywhere he has played, and for a team with ambitions of promotion, relying on him to score the goals to secure Premier League football would be a risk.

Although the 22-year-old has impressed for Bournemouth in pre-season, whether he can finally take his game up a level consistently remains to be seen.

He scored just three in 35 games during his time with Sheffield United, none in 13 at Watford, six in 40 for Preston, and three in 21 for Bournemouth.

With Preston, he was largely outshone by both Lewis Dobbin and Milutin Osmajic, so whether he is ready to become the main man up top for a side in the second tier is doubtful.

Birmingham has each of August Priske, Marvin Ducksch, and Vazquez as options up top, though with Ducksch potentially heading back to Germany, another option may be on the cards for Davies.

However, whether that person should be Jebbison remains to be seen, as the Blues should instead focus their attentions elsewhere and allow Southampton to take this gamble.

Chris Davies must sign a new striker for Birmingham this summer but should avoid Daniel Jebbison

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A new striker ought to be on the cards for Birmingham this summer, with Priske and Vazquez lacking Championship experience, whilst Ducksch is potentially on his way out.

Jebbison now has ample Championship experience under his belt, but given his goalscoring record across his career, he cannot be relied upon at this stage to score the goals necessary for a team fighting for promotion.

Davies must seek alternatives up top before the end of the window, but with Southampton and Wrexham also in the hunt for the Canadian, they should take the backseat in this deal and avoid this risky piece of business.