Birmingham City will hope for repeat Cardiff City impact if 18-goal striker lands at St. Andrew’s | OneFootball

Birmingham City are interested in signing 21-year-old Danish striker August Priske this January

Birmingham City have targeted Djurgarden striker August Priske this January to bolster their striking options, after recently allowing Scottish international Lyndon Dykes to join Charlton Athletic.

According to Danish publication Tipsbladet, as of Thursday, Birmingham City were leading the race to sign Danish sensation August Priske from Swedish side Djurdgarden.

The towering 21-year-old forward scored 18 times and grabbed two assists in the Allsvenskan last season, earning the league's top scorer and winning the Allsvenskan Forward of the Year.

Birmingham, following their record-breaking promotion from League One last season, have not quite kicked on the way they would have hoped in the second tier, and although a top-six finish can certainly not be ruled out at this stage, they look somewhat short of the necessary quality to break into those places.

After allowing Lyndon Dykes to join fellow promoted side Charlton Athletic, this leaves just Marvin Ducksch as the club's main centre-forward, and although both Jay Stansfield and Kyogo Furuhashi can play there, the pair have completely different profiles to that of Ducksch.

Priske is a more physical presence that head coach Chris Davies seems to prefer, and the Blues will be hoping to seal a January move for the Dane, and that he can have a similar impact to that of Yousef Salech, who joined Cardiff City in January last year.

Birmingham City will be hoping for Yousef Salech-style impact from August Priske should they complete deal

Indeed, should Priske make the move to England's second city this winter, he won't be the first Dane to move from Sweden to the Championship in January.

As recently as last January, Cardiff City completed a deal between £3m and £4m for Yousef Salech, who arrived from Sirius of the Allsvenskan.

Although the Bluebirds would ultimately be relegated, Salech looked at home in the second tier, scoring eight and assisting once in 20 league games for the side from the Welsh capital, with their issues coming at the back rather than up-front.

Speculation that he would leave upon Cardiff's relegation was naturally a topic of discussion, though Salech stuck around at the club, much to their delight, and has continued his goalscoring form in the third tier, with 12 goals and four assists from 26 league appearances so far this season.

Birmingham will have to fend off competition from both Besiktas and Lille for the signature of Priske, who is in high demand this winter, though, should they manage to get this deal over the line, they will certainly be hoping for a similar impact to that of Salech.

Chris Davies will be targeting a top-six finish this campaign with Birmingham City, with a strong January window

Birmingham's ambitions of Premier League football are no secret, and they have continued to show that ambition in the transfer market this January.

German left-back Kai Wagner has joined from MLS side Philadelphia Union, whilst Colombian midfielder Jhon Solis has arrived from Spanish outfit Girona, as the Blues look to strengthen their side for a real play-off push in the latter stages of the season.

They have also been linked with a move for Mjallby's Gambian sensation Abdoulie Manneh, who played a pivotal role in the Swedish minnows' unlikely title glory, but that deal has broken down and is unlikely to be resurrected.

Priske is just the latest ambitious signing targeted by Birmingham this window, though whether they will be able to beat European competition to his signature remains to be seen.

If they do, he will provide strong competition for Ducksch, Stansfield and Kyogo, and may be exactly what they need to ignite their promotion push.