Birmingham City simply must not let Sheffield United or Sunderland beat them in transfer race | OneFootball

Both Sheffield United and Sunderland have been linked with Kwame Poku but Birmingham City should make sure they get the deal over the line.

Having gained promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt this season, big-spending Birmingham City must flex their financial muscle to fend off Championship play-off finalists Sheffield United and Sunderland for the signing of Kwame Poku.

Poku is leaving Peterborough United at the end of his contract, having turned down a club-record contract offer from Posh earlier this season, and he has been heavily linked with a move to Birmingham.

Football League World has exclusively revealed that Birmingham are willing to offer £30,000 per week for the former Colchester United attacker and the Blues must follow through on their interest to put out a statement to the rest of the division.

Tom Wagner has already said that Birmingham will be able to compete financially with the Championship, but the Second City club now reportedly face competition from both Sunderland and Sheffield United for his signature.

Why Birmingham must sign Poku

Birmingham were brilliant in League One this season, amassing 111 points and beating the previous all-time EFL record points tally of 106, set by Reading as they won the 2005/06 Championship title.

The Blues had the best attack and the best defence in the division, despite some suggestions early on that they were dominant between both boxes but lacking efficiency at either end of the pitch.

However, despite their brilliance and staggering points total, Birmingham will not be resting on their laurels and if they do genuinely want to compete for promotion to the Premier League, then they must recruit, and particularly recruit in attack.

The likes of Luke Harris and Kieran Dowell will return to Fulham and Rangers at the end of their respective loan deals, whilst Lukas Jutkiewicz has retired, and question marks remain over the ability of Alfie May for Championship level, having never played in the second-tier during his impressive goalscoring career.

Adding support in attack to the likes of Jay Stansfield and Keshi Anderson is imperative – and Poku, who did have something of an injury-hit final season at London Road, is a player of immense potential and someone that it seems as though would be able to take the Championship by storm, with Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony sure of his ability to soon earn a big money move to the Premier League.

Not only would he be an excellent signing for the short-term, ideally suited to Birmingham’s slick style of football as he cuts in from the right-hand side and onto his left-foot, but, as MacAnthony believes, he could be a talismanic figure should they continue on their trajectory back towards the top-flight in the longer term.

Why Poku must go to Birmingham

Having notched 12 goals and provided eight assists for Posh last season, Poku was named Peterborough’s Players’ Player of the Season for the 2024/25 campaign and named in the League One Team of the Season – despite making just 27 appearances due to injury.

At the age of 23, the Croydon-born Ghana international needs a stable and upwardly mobile environment to continue to thrive and Birmingham appears to be one of the best places in the whole country for that.

Whilst the dream of Premier League football with Sunderland will be tempting, it would be worthwhile for Poku to take a more gradual stepping stone to his almost inevitable potential – and a move to Birmingham would be more suitable than that, rather than the harsh reality of a top-flight season whereby the Black Cats will fear the worst as the gulf appears to ever widen between the Premier League and the EFL.

As for Sheffield United, the Blades’ summer and next season has to be in a bit of doubt with some key players, most notably Gustavo Hamer, seeming likely to depart this summer and manager Chris Wilder surely under a bit of pressure after their collapse at the back end of this season.

There would also be a concern about the chopping and changing nature of Wilder’s pragmatic selection throughout the season. Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, another former League One winger who tore up the third-tier, could only manage 22 starts for the Blades in the Championship this season.

Beating off the likes of Sunderland and Sheffield United would not only give Birmingham a bit of cache as they head into the 2025/26 campaign, but it would also see them bring in a guaranteed starter and upgrade in a key area of the pitch in what is already a strong squad.

Whilst for Poku, a move to St Andrew's would also allow him to get guaranteed minutes for a team pushing for promotion to the Premier League, something that would only see his star continue to rise.