Fresh Birmingham City, Phil Neumann exit threat update emerges - two new clubs join race | OneFootball

Phil Neumann has already become the subject of exit talk at Birmingham City

Hellas Verona and VfL Wolfsburg have reportedly entered the transfer battle to sign Birmingham City centre-back Phil Neumann ahead of the upcoming deadline.

That is according to Italian-based publication, Calciomercato, on Tuesday morning, with Blues' German defender already becoming the subject of potential exit talk just months after completing his long-awaited switch to St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

It has already been an extremely busy winter transfer window for the likes of Chris Davies, Tom Wagner and Craig Gardner in this part of the world, with the ambitious Championship side conducting a major squad reshuffle in order to give themselves a desired advantage over several rivals in a congested play-off race between now and the conclusion of the regular second tier season on May 2nd.

Football League World exclusively revealed in the opening days of the window that as many as eight players could exit St. Andrew's in some form, with that now proving to be the case following the permanent departures of Dion Sanderson, Emil Hansson, Lyndon Dykes, Alfons Sampsted and Keshi Anderson, whilst Marc Leonard was loaned out to Scottish Premiership leaders, Hearts, and both Eiran Cashin and Lewis Koumas saw their loan agreements from Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool cut short.

In return, Birmingham have made four acquisitions since the opening of the window on New Year's Day in the form of Kai Wagner, Jhon Solis, Ibrahim Osman and August Priske.

They are also in line for a fifth signing of the window, with it being widely reported that the West Midlands outfit are closing in on the high-profile capture of Deportivo Alaves' 10-goal winger, Carlos Vicente, for approximately £7m, with the Spaniard currently finalising his expected switch to the Second City after lengthy speculation over his future, both in the summer and winter windows.

Neumann, himself, was one of 14 players recruited by Blues in the previous window, albeit the defender had agreed to make his maiden move to English football 12 months ago after the then League One club were able to agree a pre-contract agreement with his former employers, Hannover 96, in a rather controversial set of circumstances.

Yet, despite already proving to be a mainstay at the heart of Davies' defence alongside club captain, Christoph Klarer, it remains to be seen how much longer the 28-year-old will be plying his trade with Blues for, as transfer discourse surrounding the Recklinghausen native has shown no sign of dissipating with just one week left until the deadline of 7PM on February 2nd.

As previously mentioned, Neumann's switch to St. Andrew's was made official on July 1st following the conclusion of his contract with Hannover, having previously seen his signature courted by Blues throughout the summer and winter transfer windows of their eventual record-breaking season in League One last term, during which 111 points were accumulated.

The 6"3 figure slotted straight into Davies' pre-season plans alongside Klarer, who had previously formed a strong partnership with both Krystian Bielik and Ben Davies.

After making his debut in the intense 1-1 draw against newly-relegated Ipswich Town in the EFL's season opener on August 8th, Neumann went on to start the following four Championship encounters and Blues' unexpected EFL Cup knockout versus Port Vale, before subsequently not featuring again until the 1-0 success over Preston North End on October 21st.

However, he would net the only goal in the timely success at Deepdale, and has since featured prominently alongside either Klarer or Jack Robinson in the following two-and-a-half months.

Although the length of the German's contract in B9 is yet to be disclosed, the man who netted his first St. Andrew's goal on December 29th against Southampton reportedly became of interest to Sassuolo earlier in the window, with the Serie A side's prized asset and centre-back, Tarik Muharemovic, attracting interest from clubs in the Premier League, such as Aston Villa.

Whilst the Bosnian has remained on Sassuolo's books for now, Calciomercato have now relayed the Italian club's interest in Neumann, as well as revealing the fact that he is on the radar of Hellas Verona and VfL Wolfsburg.

The report outlines that Verona are eager to sign a centre-back in what remains of the window, and that they are aware of the aforementioned competition.

Birmingham City cannot afford to sanction Phil Neumann exit amid lack of defensive depth

At present, it would come across as a mistake for Blues to sanction a departure for Neumann, even if they were able to quickly source a replacement.

Aside from himself, Klarer and Robinson, there are no other natural senior centre-backs amongst Davies' ranks, making it even the more crucial that the club address this situation with another acquisition in what remains of the window.

Although Blues are currently not in the top flight, Neumann's head may also not be turned by the aforementioned interest due to the ambition showcased by the club's owners, Knighthead, who are eager to see the club return to the Premier League for the first time since 2011 as soon as possible.