How much Birmingham City would have paid Oli McBurnie in wages if he signed - it is less than Kyogo Furuhashi | OneFootball

The Scotland international will likely face off against Blues on Saturday for Hull City following his summer transfer saga

Birmingham City's transfer activity in recent windows has been discussed to death, with the ambitious club tipped, by many, to make a return to the Premier League in the near future.

Such hopes would have been nothing but a pipe dream in the eyes many Blues supporters not too long ago, having become a club used to stagnating in the lower reaches of the Championship, which eventually culminated in relegation to League One two seasons ago.

However, after completely gutting the squad at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, Chris Davies enjoyed a record-breaking season that saw an astonishing 111 points accumulated in the third tier, with such high performance levels and a raft of high-quality and potential players only raising the bar in terms of expectation levels in this part of the Second City.

They only increased further throughout the recently concluded summer transfer window, with the hierarchy in B9 adopting a ruthless transfer approach that saw former favourites such as Krystian Bielik and Alfie May deemed surplus to requirements, whilst statement additions such as Kyogo Furuhashi, Marvin Ducksch, Demarai Gray and Patrick Roberts came through the door at St. Andrew's among others.

As such, many would have predicted Blues to have been streets ahead of Saturday's opponents, Hull City, who came into the campaign off the back of a managerial change - as Sergej Jakirovic replaced Ruben Selles - as well as being slapped with a two-window transfer fee restriction by the EFL.

However, it is the Tigers who, albeit extremely narrowly, sit the higher of the two in the table, whilst also having the in-form Oli McBurnie in their ranks.

Ironically, the 17-time international was linked with a potential move to the West Midlands before the completion of his deal, and FLW has looked at what Blues could have paid him in wages.

Oli McBurnie is earning less in wages at Hull City than what Birmingham City are paying Kyogo Furuhashi

As previously mentioned, it was the East Yorkshire side who landed the Leeds-born striker's services on a free transfer following the activation of a relegation-themed clause in McBurnie's deal with Spanish outfit, Las Palmas, following their fall from La Liga at the end of last season.

Given his prior record at this level with the likes of Swansea City and Sheffield United, with a return of 13 goals in 38 league appearances pivotal in the Blades' promotion in 2022/23 under Paul Heckingbottom, it was no surprise that a plethora of Championship clubs were in the race for his signature.

This included the newly-promoted Blues, who were linked with a handful of strikers throughout the window on top of Kyogo, Ducksch and club-record signing Jay Stansfield, with former Golden Boot winners Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chuba Akpom just two names falling into said category alongside McBurnie.

Several outlets referenced links between Davies' side and the powerful striker, before it was confirmed that he had moved to the MKM Stadium on a three-year deal with the option of a fourth that can be triggered at a later date.

According to Capology - a site which ESTIMATES player earnings and specific contract details - McBurnie was earning £34,487 per week in Gran Canaria.

Unsurprisingly, a small dip in weekly salary has occurred following his return to Yorkshire. However, it is said that he is earning £25,000 per week as a base wage with the Tigers - the same as his earnings at Bramall Lane - as well as potential bonuses of £6,250.

Despite his quickfire impact at the MKM, it may come as a surprise that the 29-year-old isn't the highest-paid player on Acun Ilicali's payroll, with that being Ryan Giles, who reportedly earns £35,000 per week, whilst Brandon Williams is said to be on £30,000 per week after signing a short-term deal in the summer.

McBurnie's aforementioned wage is also £10,000 less than that of Furuhashi, who, to very little surprise, is believed to be the highest earner at St Andrew's following a £10m switch from Rennes, although he is still yet to open his league account for Blues.

Oli McBurnie isn't far off initial Hull City, Sergej Jakirovic goal target after impressive start

After scoring just 44 times last season, Hull have rectified their creative shortcomings under Jakirovic, with the addition of McBurnie and a rebirth of the attack-minded full-back Giles integral to such potency, despite going the other way in terms of defensive metrics.

All of Giles' league-high five assists have been turned home by the experienced forward, whilst no player in the division has racked up more goal involvements than McBurnie's total of nine in as many games.

The Bosnian has continuously sung the praises of the man who has displayed a plethora of attributes in the early-season period, whilst he is also not far away from reaching an initial target of 15 goals for the season set by the new Tigers head coach.

McBurnie has already dished out some senses of transfer regret this season too, scoring against Swansea with a close-range finish, whilst leading the line by example against the Blades last time out in a 1-0 win, before being named as the league's Player of the Month for September.

Blues are looking to extend a proud unbeaten home league record to 30 games this weekend too, which will only give the forward extra motivation to do the same for a third time in two months.