Birmingham City have made a positive start to the summer transfer window. But they’re yet to sign one long-term target: Dion Sanderson.
There seems to be a lot of back and forth going on between Birmingham City and Wolves over a deal for Sanderson. The youngster is wanted back at St Andrew’s after his positive loan spell last time round, but it looks like it’ll cost Blues a fair bit of money.
A£2million fee has been widely reported in the media and Birmingham Live say that a deal for Sanderson would likely be the club’s most expensive signing this summer. It comes after the club has spent money on permanent deals for all of Tyler Roberts, Ethan Laird, and Krystian Bielik, whilst also signing Koji Miyoshi on a free transfer.
But Blues could find a free alternative to Sanderson in released Watford man Craig Cathcart. The 34-year-old featured 28 times in the Championship last season and is currently away on international duty. He has 437 career appearances to his name with 262 of those having come in a Watford shirt.
The 72-time Northern Ireland international is vastly experienced in the Championship and he’s already attracting interest, with Ipswich Town and reading reportedly among the teams keen on a potential deal for the centre-half.
But for Blues, someone with Cathcart’s experience could be hugely valuable ahead of next season. The club has a very young side and has added another youngster to their defensive ranks in Laird this summer. And across the pitch there’s young players, with a lot of them having come through the academy, and expect manager John Eustace to be wary of finding the balance between youth and experience this summer.
Cathcart would add quality and experience to the side and given a one-year deal, say, it would be a free alternative to a move for Sanderson which looks to be hitting a few snags right now.
