Birmingham City transfer truth revealed on £17.3m claim as deal nears | OneFootball

Carlos Vicente has been heavily linked with a move to Blues in the latter stages of the transfer window

Financial details have emerged as Birmingham City look to finalise another high-profile transfer in the form of Deportivo Alaves' star winger, Carlos Vicente.

Despite the fact Blues had seen their play-off ambitions somewhat stall with a frustrating 1-1 draw against Stoke City at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on Saturday afternoon, plenty of hype has been generated over the course of the weekend as Tom Wagner and Chris Davies look to complete yet another eye-catching deal in the January transfer window.

The draw against Mark Robins' depleted Potters side in B9 has left Birmingham five points behind the final play-off place, which is now occupied by fellow newly-promoted and ambitious Wrexham, albeit Davies' men still have 17 Championship matches to play out between now and May 2nd.

It has been an extremely active winter transfer window in this part of the West Midlands on both the incomings and outgoings front, with several players who had previously been on the fringes of Davies' starting lineup allowed to depart on permanent or loan deals, whilst the former Tottenham Hotspur assistant has already seen four players come through the door at St. Andrew's since the window opened on New Year's Day.

Indeed, the aforementioned quartet is made up of German full-back, Kai Wagner, who has made a rather strong impact in the handful of matches he has featured in so far, as well as Jhon Solis, Ibrahim Osman and highly-rated striker August Priske, with the latter duo also making their debuts in royal blue over the weekend after watching the previous 2-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday from the stands.

Vicente had been one of several names linked with a move to St. Andrew's in the summer transfer window on top of the 14 permanent or loan signings that were made by Davies, although a move failed to materialise.

However, despite Alaves' understandable reluctance to lose the services of such a key performer, the Second City outfit may have sourced themselves a bargain deal, according to reports.

As previously mentioned, transfer links between Blues and Vicente have re-emerged throughout the current window, with Matteo Morreto revealing on January 16th that contact had been made between the Championship and La Liga clubs, despite the fact Alaves were hoping to retain the 26-year-old's services.

It was then claimed that Birmingham would have to part with approximately £17.3m of Knighthead Capital Management's funds, which aligned with the valuation inserted in Vicente's current contract at the Mendizorrotza Stadium.

Contrasting reports then emerged in the lead-up to Blues' 1-1 draw against Stoke on Saturday, with majority owner, Wagner, dropping a cryptic hint regarding the club's number one priority in the transfer market at present, which appeared to still be their pursuit of the Spaniard.

Addressing supporters at the Knighthead Fan Park adjacent to the main stand at St. Andrew's, the American was quoted as saying "Habla Español…” ("do you speak Spanish?") to the Bluenoses present in the pre-match fanzone.

At the same time, Vicente had become heavily linked with a switch to Dutch Eredivisie giants, Ajax, who are currently 16 points behind league leaders, PSV Eindhoven, and are looking to reshape their squad under Fred Grim.

However, it was reported by Sky Sports on Saturday night that Blues have emerged as front-runners in this particular transfer race, with reports from publications in the Alava region of Spain adding further details to the situation.

It has since been stated by Noticias De Alava that Blues are still the most likely club to sign the winger for a reported €8m (£6.9m), which is far less than Alaves' aforementioned valuation of the 10-goal winger.

The report also adds that the Championship side are in advanced negotiations, and that Vicente is expected to sign a three-and-a-half year contract in B9 until the summer of 2029.

Whilst it has often been the case that transfer speculation can affect the performances of a player at their current employers, that certainly hasn't been the story for Vicente.

Hours before the most recent reports regarding his expected move to England surfaced, the wide man hit double figures for Alaves in all competitions this term with a smart finish in a 2-1 home success over Real Betis on Sunday night.

This saw Alaves climb back out of the La Liga relegation zone, and they are now up to 15th, meaning that it could be some parting gift from the Zaragoza native.