Birmingham City plot surprise transfer move for Ipswich Town star | OneFootball

Birmingham City are interested in signing Ipswich Town's Darnell Furlong in the January transfer window.

Birmingham City are interested in Ipswich Town’s Darnell Furlong as they look to strengthen their options at full-back in the New Year.

The 30-year-old only joined the Tractor Boys in the summer, after they agreed a deal with West Brom for the defender, and Furlong has gone on to make 15 Championship appearances for Kieran McKenna’s side, establishing himself as the first-choice right-back at Portman Road.

Yet, it appears his stay in Suffolk could be a short one, as GiveMeSport has claimed that Birmingham City are monitoring the player ahead of the market opening in the New Year, along with two other unnamed full-backs.

Darnell Furlong would be open to Birmingham City switch from Ipswich Town

Interestingly, the update adds that Furlong is ‘understood to be keen’ on coming back to the Midlands, whilst he has a connection to Blues as his father, Paul, was at the club for six years from 1996.

Even though no specific fee is mentioned, Ipswich are sure to want to recoup the £4m they paid the Baggies to sign Furlong just a matter of months ago.

As well as that, Ipswich may be open to a sale as they are well-stocked for options at right-back, even if it may seem odd to some considering he has played regularly for McKenna.

Nevertheless, if he did depart, the Northern Irish boss would still have Ben Johnson, Ashley Young and Harry Clarke, so it’s an area they do have plenty of strength in depth.

Darnell Furlong to Birmingham City could suit all parties

Following on from that, right-back has been something of a problem position for Blues, as Ethan Laird, who was brilliant for Chris Davies last season, has been out for the bulk of the season, and he still isn’t expected to return to fitness for months.

Blues did sign Bright Osayi-Samuel this summer, but he hasn’t always impressed, and he is away with Nigeria at AFCON at the moment, which means Tomoki Iwata has had to revert to playing in defence.

There is also no depth behind Alex Cochrane at left-back, so Davies may see Furlong as someone who could play right-back, with Osayi-Samuel or Laird then acting as cover on the opposite flank.

So, if Furlong does want to move back to the Midlands, you would expect a deal could be done, as Ipswich will need to sell at least one of their four senior right-backs in January, as it’s not sensible to have that many players for that role, from a football and financial perspective.

One potential issue is that Ipswich may not be keen on strengthening a promotion rival, but we know that money talks, and it will be interesting to see if this transfer happens.