Birmingham City set to complete bargain raid for Middlesbrough star | OneFootball

Dael Fry's time at the Riverside Stadium is set to come to an end

Birmingham City and Middlesbrough will be two sides looking to compete for a place in the Premier League over the course of the 2026/27 season, after both sets of supporters at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park and the Riverside Stadium were left feeling disappointed at the end of last campaign.

It has been well-documented that both owners - Tom Wagner and Steve Gibson - have ploughed plenty of money behind-the-scenes and into their squads in the West Midlands and the North East to achieve their respective dreams of ending lengthy exiles from the top-flight.

For Middlesbrough, the upcoming season will also be their first full term under Kim Hellberg, after the Swede replaced Rob Edwards last November and, to a large extent, was able to build further on their early-season momentum.

After falling out of the automatic promotion places late in the season due to an inability to score goals on a regular basis, the Reds were embroiled in the play-off spygate scandal, before being reinstated into the promotion lottery and eventually losing to Hull City at Wembley Stadium.

Birmingham, meanwhile, oversaw two major squad reshuffles in Chris Davies' second term as boss in B9, but they were never really in the conversation which many expected them to be in this time 12 months ago.

As such, after a 10th-placed finish, the pressure is firmly on the 41-year-old and those in the hierarchy to mount a successful bid for promotion and deliver two strong transfer windows.

It had previously been quiet on the incomings front for Blues, but that has now changed, very much to Middlesbrough's detriment.

Birmingham City agree bargain Dael Fry, Middlesbrough transfer agreement

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Indeed, the play-off final loss to the Tigers on May 25th was set to be the last time Boro fans saw hometown hero, Hayden Hackney, in a red and white strip, and that was confirmed earlier in the week when a £24m deal with Premier League side, Everton, was confirmed.

However, while the Teesside outfit have already been linked with a plethora of targets in various positions, even more of their local core is set to be ripped apart, with a fresh report from the Sun initially revealing that captain, Dael Fry, was Birmingham-bound on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract on June 30th.

The 28-year-old, barring a loan spell with Rotherham United, had been a 'one club man' throughout his senior career after debuting for Boro on the opening day of the 2015/16 season, making 296 appearances across all competitions.

The aforementioned report also states that Middlesbrough had made two new contract offers for Fry, with the latter of those coming earlier this week before the official commencing of the 2026/27 season.

The experienced figure had also been linked with moves to the likes of East Lancashire rivals Burnley and Blackburn Rovers, as well as Lincoln City and West Ham United, but will join an already strong central defensive union at St. Andrew's instead.

It has since been confirmed by Birmingham that Fry has penned a three-year contract with the club.

Birmingham City fans will be pleased with bargain Dael Fry agreement

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While Birmingham supporters have certainly been thrilled by the heavy investment showcased by Knighthead in the past three years, including a club-record deal to sign Jay Stansfield, the hierarchy have also been criticised at times for not recruiting enough players with experience of competing at the top end of the Championship.

Indeed, some of the comments on Blues' unveiling of Fry's signature include "Proper signing this. Proven, Championship player. Feel for Neumann, but he has to start with Klarer for me."

Another said: "Top signing!!"

However, there were some of a Middlesbrough persuasion who are clearly perplexed, with one Teessider saying: "When fit he’s one of the best defenders in the league. Keeping him fit is the problem. Only need to look at our fans reaction will tell you everything how they feel about this."

Another frustrated Boro fan added: "Got one of the best in the league there lads, look after him, gutted he’s gone. Him and Hackney in the same week, we are finished."

Fry certainly brings that, with Boro finishing in the play-offs three times during his spell at the club, as well as being promoted during his first season in the first-team fold under former Blues boss, Aitor Karanka.