Birmingham City told to avoid Tommy Watson transfer swoop - ‘Get Osman back’ | OneFootball

Birmingham City are interested in Brighton's Tommy Watson as they prepare to add to Chris Davies' squad this summer.

Birmingham City are set for a huge summer transfer window as they look to build a squad that can challenge for promotion under Chris Davies.

Since the US owners bought the club, there has been serious investment into Blues, so there had been a belief that they could make it back-to-back promotions this season.

However, Birmingham fell short in their quest to reach the play-offs, so the challenge will be to go again in August, but it’s clear that some areas of the squad need to be addressed over the coming months.

Birmingham City told to make Ibrahim Osman return a priority

Pleasingly for Blues, it’s not like they’re in a desperate situation where they need to make wholesale changes to the squad. Instead, it will be about identifying a few quality individuals that can improve the overall level.

For many, bringing in a quick winger down the left flank should be one of the top targets, as there is a lack of depth behind Demarai Gray, who has suffered with injuries in the past year.

So, reports linking Blues with Brighton’s Tommy Watson make sense, as the former Sunderland man is expected to be available on loan this summer, and he needs regular game time to start fulfilling his potential.

Yet, when quizzed by FLW about the prospect of signing Watson, Birmingham fan pundit Jason Moore admitted that he wouldn’t be against the 20-year-old arriving in the window, although he made it clear Brighton teammate Ibrahim Osman should be first-choice after his impressive spell at St. Andrew’s from January.

“I guess I’d welcome it. Personally, I think Osman is the one we should be looking at over anyone - he was absolutely quality, and because we don’t desperately need wingers, I’d just try and get Osman back.

“If that’s not doable, then, yes, let’s go for Watson. He has got Championship experience, which is the one thing we lacked last season, and we’re desperate for it.

“The bits I’ve seen of him, he’s looked okay. To be honest, you’d rather a permanent, and seeing the links to Osman on a permanent, that’s the one I’d be after. But, if not, Watson. He could come in and do a job, he has a better track record than Lewis Koumas (who was on loan last season) and it follows the Osman path.”

Tommy Watson would be a risky signing for Birmingham City

There’s no denying that Watson is a player with potential, which is why Brighton paid £10m to sign the winger, and we know how good their track record is in the market.

Yet, the reality is that he was inconsistent during his time at Sunderland, and he didn’t do well for Millwall after joining in January, as he failed to score or register an assist in 12 appearances, with only two of those starts.

So, it’s hard to say he is an upgrade on what Blues have right now, and, as outlined above, this window needs to be about improving the XI as opposed to beefing up the squad.

Most would agree that Osman should be the priority, but that is obviously going to be a difficult deal to do, as he will have plenty of interest, and it may not be financially viable, even for Blues, on a permanent basis when you consider what Brighton paid for the Ghana international.

Either way, it’s clear Blues are looking for the right profile of player to add more pace and dribbling ability to the team, and it will be interesting to see who they bring in.