How Birmingham City and Sunderland escaped a costly £6m mistake | OneFootball

Blues and Middlesbrough's North East rivals ended up avoiding the Reds' transfer mishap

Birmingham City and Middlesbrough are clubs looking to eventually return to their previous position as regulars in the Premier League, which was a common theme in the mid to late 2000s.

Blues became a regular fixture among English football's elite initially under Steve Bruce after ending a 17-year exile by winning the second-tier play-offs in 2002, whilst the Teesside outfit had already asserted themselves firmly among the top 20 clubs in the country, largely down to the hefty backing of boyhood supporter and owner, Steve Gibson.

Of course, in recent years, transfer fees have skyrocketed beyond belief across the world, although that wasn't necessarily the case with all Premier League sides, with the likes of Birmingham and Middlesbrough having to showcase a shrewd mentality in the transfer market in order to mould competitive outfits.

However, the West Midlands club and Boro's bitter North East rivals, Sunderland, will be forever grateful that it was the Riverside Stadium outfit who would suffer a major transfer mishap with the well-documented capture of Egyptian striker, Mido, in the summer of 2007.

Middlesbrough ended long-standing Mido transfer saga by beating Birmingham City, Sunderland competition

The Cairo-born forward's career path is certainly intriguing to reflect upon in hindsight, having featured for the likes of KAA Gent, Marseille, Ajax, Celta Vigo, Marseille and Italian giants Roma, all before his first taste of English football with Tottenham Hotspur in January 2005.

After an initial slow start to life in North London, Mido ended his first full season and the last within a 18-month loan deal as Spurs' top scorer in the 2005/06 season with 11 goals in 27 appearances as Martin Jol's side missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification at the hands of Arsenal, before the Egyptian finally made his switch permanent for €5m.

However, the 50-time international would endure a frustrating season as a squad player behind the likes of Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov, scoring five times in just 23 appearances, leaving question marks over his long-term future.

This alerted newly-promoted Birmingham, who would agree a £6m deal after initial talks over a loan move, although Mido would then become the focus of then-Championship title holders Sunderland and Roy Keane, who confirmed the Black Cats' desire to strike a deal after a move to St. Andrew's reportedly collapsed as Blues blamed the striker for demanding several clauses within a potential contract.

After Birmingham attempted to revive their interest, Gareth Southgate then looked to acquire his services on Teesside by matching the aforementioned clubs' bids, with the centre-forward eventually moving to Middlesbrough on a four-year contract.

"I played against him as a player and he always impressed me," Southgate said at the time.

Middlesbrough would go on to suffer Mido transfer mishap and spare Birmingham City, Sunderland blushes

Although Birmingham would suffer an immediate relegation back to the Championship as Bruce left for Wigan, eventually being replaced by Alex McLeish, they and Sunderland would have their blushes spared as Mido failed to justify the price which Gibson parted for in order for Southgate to land his prime target.

The striker netted just twice in his first season in the North East, with both goals coming in August 2007 in a 2-1 win at Fulham - his debut- and a 2-2 draw at the Riverside against Newcastle United.

After suffering persistent injury and suspension niggles despite scoring four more times in the opening stages of Boro's 2008/09 relegation season, including the winner against Spurs, Mido found himself down the pecking order following the arrival and form of Alfonso Alves, with Bruce eventually acquiring the striker's services during an underwhelming loan stint for Wigan Athletic.

Further unimpactful loan spells with Zamalek and West Ham United followed during Middlesbrough's return to the Championship as they failed to shift the striker off their books until towards the end of his lengthy contract, eventually returning to Ajax.

Mido then continued a period of being a footballing 'journeyman' which included a return to the Championship with Barnsley. However, a failed six-month spell at Oakwell only further showcased his journey into the abyss, and how Middlesbrough supporters will still be scratching their heads over such a mishap.