Birmingham City must rival Norwich in Leeds transfer race - it’s not Joel Piroe | OneFootball

Birmingham City have been linked with Joel Piroe, but they should also have an eye on beating Norwich City for Largie Ramazani

Leeds United secured safety in their first season back in the Premier League under Daniel Farke.

And now, players who contributed massively to their Championship title win, who have been on the fringes of action in the top-flight, are being deemed surplus to requirements.

That's good news for certain second-tier sides, as there will be plenty of top-end Championship-quality players who will be available to help bolster their own promotion credentials in 2026/27.

Birmingham City have ambitions to have those credentials next season, after their bid for consecutive promotions fell flat this year, finishing nine points off Hull City in 10th.

Chris Davies' side have recently been linked with former second-tier Golden Boot winner Joel Piroe, who, despite his league-best 19 goals in Leeds' title-winning campaign, made just two league starts in the Premier League (in the first two games of the season) and played fewer than 250 league minutes overall.

However, the recently turned Surinamese international shouldn't be the only player from Elland Road that Birmingham pursue this summer, as they should do their best to gatecrash Norwich City's attempts to bring Largie Ramazani back to the Championship.

Birmingham City should rival Norwich City for Largie Ramazani transfer

With both Birmingham and Norwich finishing on the fringes of the play-offs this past season, they'll be looking to bring in added firepower to go one better at least next year.

So, it would be a real statement if Chris Davies' side beat out the Canaries in their attempts to sign Ramazani from Leeds, as, according to the Pink Un, a move for the 25-year-old is being considered by the higher-ups at Carrow Road this summer.

The wideman, who was a product of the academy at Manchester United, spent this term on loan at Carlos Corberan's Valencia, and has played a good part in Los Murcielagos' rise up La Liga after it looked like they were destined for relegation.

Valencia managed to finish ninth, despite being in the relegation zone in February. From then until early May, Ramazani started 11 consecutive games, his only league starts this season, scoring five goals in that time to help his side climb up the table.

It's expected that a return to Elland Road will not materialise for the former Almeria man, and Valencia have been sounded out for a permanent move this summer, albeit with interest expected from elsewhere.

Norwich will be one of those interested sides, but Birmingham should definitely throw their name in the hat, too.

Largie Ramazani could play an integral part in another Championship promotion at Birmingham City

Many Leeds fans felt that Ramazani was dealt a difficult hand by Daniel Farke during his time at Elland Road so far.

With three goals and an assist in his first three starts before going down with an ankle injury in a win over Watford, the 25-year-old was hardly given a chance from the off after he made his return a month later, owing to the performances of the likes of Dan James, Manor Solomon and Wilfried Gnonto.

However, his impact off the bench was still there to be seen, with highlights including a goal and an assist in seven minutes against Sheffield Wednesday in January and a nine-minute brace against Bristol City in the penultimate game of the campaign.

He made no league starts in 2026, much to the disappointment of Leeds fans, but still ended the campaign with six goals and two assists in under 800 minutes of action, leaving him top of the goals per 90 charts at the end of the season, with 0.69.

Last season, Demarai Gray was the most-used winger at Birmingham, with 2,294 minutes played. If the Leeds man scored at the rate he did over those minutes, he would have ended the season with 17 goals.

Granted, different circumstances may affect that, but it's an encouraging sign that, if afforded a more prominent role in a team, Ramazani could be among their top scorers and could provide the firepower to help a club like Birmingham push on towards promotion.

If the Blues do allow Norwich to come in and take the 25-year-old ahead of them, he could ensure that the Canaries enter next year stronger than them, which will not be what Chris Davies wants.