Birmingham City must feel like they robbed Burnley with £1m transfer raid | OneFootball

Birmingham's £1m deal to sign Lukas Jutkiewicz from Burnley will go down as one of their best deals in their recent history.

Birmingham City are a club on the rise, and many fans will feel it’s about time when you consider what they had to endure under their previous owners.

Prior to Tom Wagner’s US group buying the club, Birmingham had a miserable period in their history, as they constantly battled to avoid relegation to League One.

Under Trillion Trophy Asia, Blues made a lot of mistakes, both in terms of recruitment and the managers they appointed.

So, even though the club did drop to the third tier under the current regime, before returning at the first attempt, the fans recognise they are in a much better place, and there will be a belief that they can reach the Premier League.

Lukas Jutkiewicz was a rare success story for Birmingham City

Blues are now big spenders by Championship standards, but, as they know, spending money doesn’t guarantee success.

Over the period of a few years from 2015, Blues wasted a lot of the money they had. Diego Fabbrini, Nicolai Brock-Madsen, Kerim Frei, Cheick Keita, Greg Stewart and Jota were among the players who arrived, and it’s fair to say they didn’t live up to expectations.

However, it wasn’t all bad in that period, with Che Adams a standout signing as he contributed on the pitch and was sold for a hefty profit.

Yet, there’s no doubt that Lukas Jutkiewicz was the key signing for Birmingham.

The striker joined from Burnley on an initial loan, and there would have been a lot of scepticism about his arrival.

Jutkiewicz’s career up to that point had been mixed. There had been good spells at Coventry and Bolton, but he had been inconsistent at Middlesbrough. Then, at Burnley, he had failed to score in over 30 games, even if many were from the bench in the Premier League.

So, when he joined from the Clarets on an initial loan, it looked a decent acquisition for Blues, particularly as they hadn’t committed a fee at the time.

In a matter of months, it became apparent Birmingham had to sign Jutkiewicz, and the deal became permanent in January for just £1m.

Lukas Jutkiewicz became a firm favourite at Birmingham City

As it transpires, that must be up there with the best £1m Blues have spent in their recent history, as Jutkiewicz was a massive player for the club.

In total, he had nine seasons with the Midlands outfit, and whilst there were some testing moments for Blues as a club, he was someone that could be relied on.

It sometimes felt that new players were brought in to replace Jutkiewicz, but he would ultimately win his place back in the XI, as his all-round game was crucial to the way the team played.

Those on the terraces also appreciated what Jutkiewicz was about. He relished the physical battle with his opponent, he would play with his back to goal, and he would always give 100%. The latter might sound like the bare minimum, but there were times at Blues when you would question whether the group were giving their all.

So, Jutkiewicz epitomised exactly what Blues fans want from their players, and that’s why he became a real fans favourite, as they knew what the club meant to him.

Ultimately, injuries would restrict the impact Jutkiewicz could make, and when Chris Davies arrived with real investment, it was inevitable he would play a bit-part role.

Jutkiewicz still got to sign off on a high though, with his last goal in royal blue, and his career, coming in the 6-2 win against Barnsley.

Even though the game was well won by the time he scored the sixth, the emotion in St. Andrew’s at the time perfectly summed up how the support felt about the big striker.

Clearly, the situation at Birmingham has changed considerably compared to when Jutkiewicz joined, and the club are now shopping in a different market altogether.

But, they will still be on the lookout for potential bargains, although it’s hard to imagine they will ever get a player for just £1m to replicate the impact Jutkiewicz made.