Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal plotting Birmingham City transfer raid | OneFootball

Birmingham City youngster Alfie Smith is attracting interest from top clubs including Man City, Liverpool, Man Utd and Arsenal.

Birmingham City are hoping to convince talented goalkeeper Alfie Smith to stay at the club despite interest from a host of Premier League sides, including Manchester United and Liverpool.

The 14-year-old is the latest highly-rated youngster to come through at St. Andrew’s, with Smith featuring for Blues’ U18 side recently despite his age, as they beat Fulham 4-3.

As well as that, Smith has represented England at various youth levels, and he also plays above his age range for the national team, having turned out for the U16s.

Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea are all monitoring Birmingham’s Alfie Smith

Therefore, it’s perhaps no surprise that other clubs are taking notice of the teenager, and the Daily Mail has revealed that Premier League clubs are ‘charting his progress’.

The update states that Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are all keeping tabs on Smith, but Blues are determined to keep him in the Midlands.

They add that Birmingham are trying to convince the player and his family that his long-term future lies at St. Andrew’s, although they are vulnerable to losing Smith until he can sign a professional contract.

Blues would be entitled to limited compensation if Smith, or any youngster, leaves, but that changes once an academy player turns 17, when they can agree a professional contract, so it’s still some way away for the stopper.

Birmingham City’s academy is crucial to long-term plans

It’s an exciting time to be a Birmingham fan, as the club are making huge strides on the pitch under their ambitious US owners.

Clearly, the aim is to establish the club in the Premier League, but director of football Craig Gardner is also on record highlighting the importance of bringing players through the academy and into the first-team.

Obviously, it’s far too soon to say Smith could be one of those players, but he is someone that the club rate highly given the opportunities he has had.

It’s a positive for Blues that they are producing talented individuals that are attracting interest from some of the biggest clubs in the country, and they are rightly establishing a reputation as a top academy when you look at their recent history, which includes bringing through the Bellingham brothers.

So, it will be interesting to see how this plays out, and whether Birmingham can convince Smith that his development is best served by staying with the club, but that may be difficult given the calibre of clubs involved.