Birmingham City news: Blues urged to sign Aston Villa man, Sontje Hansen battle, Demarai Gray guarantee | OneFootball

FLW brings you the latest updates from St. Andrew’s.

Birmingham City continue to ramp up their summer transfer window business ahead of the upcoming 2025-26 campaign.

Blues are looking to build a squad good enough to compete back in the second tier after smashing the record League One points tally and resoundingly lifting the third-tier title.

So far this summer, Blues have been backed by Tom Wagner, recruiting nine new faces to the West Midlands.

James Beadle, Tommy Doyle, Phil Neumann, Demarai Gray, Kanya Fujimoto, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Kyogo Furuhashi have all entered the building, while Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Alfons Sampsted have turned their loan moves into permanent stays.

With business still expected to be busy in the Second City, FLW takes you through all the latest news surrounding Birmingham City.

Middlesbrough increase efforts to sign Birmingham City target Sontje Hansen

Middlesbrough are in talks to sign previous Birmingham City target Sontje Hansen from NEC Nijmegen.

As per journalist Lorenzo Lepore, Boro have made the Dutchman their top target during the summer transfer window as Rob Edwards aims to bolster the quality of his squad. The Teesside outfit narrowly missed out on the play-offs last term.

The tweet suggests a deal is progressing, with Middlesbrough officials flying out to the Netherlands to meet Hansen to convince him to make the move to the Riverside Stadium.

Birmingham were keen over a move for the 23-year-old at the beginning of June, with journalist Anthony Joseph outlining that Blues had expressed their interest in his signature.

Demarai Gray gives “best years” guarantee to Birmingham City supporters

Demarai Gray has outlined that Birmingham City fans will see the “best years” of him after he sealed his move back to the West Midlands from El Ettifaq.

Gray ended his first spell at Blues nearly a decade ago but returns on a three-year contract to help bring about a promotion push to the Premier League.

At the age of 29, Gray has gained vital experience playing in the Premier League and Bundesliga with Everton and Bayer Leverkusen respectively.

Making a return to the Championship, the Jamaican international believes those experiences will help Blues see the best version of himself.

Speaking to Blues +, Gray said: “I feel good physically, I feel fit I know my capabilities. I don’t want to come on the camera now and say ‘I am going to do this or that’ because talk is cheap.

“But I believe in where I am at now, my ability. I am 29, I haven’t come back where I am at the back end of my career, where I have lost my pace. I do feel at the peak of my powers. I have come back where I can actually give Birmingham my best years.

“I have worked with Chris before and Ben, they know me as a player, they have watched me grow and develop. I feel like the club has got me at a great time.”

Kanya Fujimoto outlines two key factors behind Birmingham City switch

New Birmingham City addition Kanya Fujimoto has outlined that the club’s ambition and project attracted him to sign for the club.

The 26-year-old arrives in England after spending the last five years with Portuguese top tier side Gil Vicente, where he played over 150 league games and scored 12 goals.

Speaking to the club following his addition, Fujimoto outlined his ambition of plying his trade in the Premier League, believing Birmingham City offer one of the best possible routes to achieving that dream.

Speaking to Blues+, Fujimoto said: “I’m looking forward to playing in front of the fans. I’m 26 years old now, so my dream is to play in the Premier League. This team has really good ambition and project, so that’s why I wanted to come here.

“They [Chris Davies and Craig Gardner] said they want to achieve a lot of things – and big things. This team is interesting to me from last season. I’m also interested in the team, and the atmosphere of the stadium, with the fans, is really good. I’m looking forward to seeing that.”

Lee Hendrie urges Birmingham City to pursue Louie Barry after Hull City stall

Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie has backed the likes of Birmingham City, along with Middlesbrough and West Brom, to attempt to hijack a deal for Louie Barry, given his move to Hull City has stalled.

According to The Athletic, issues with the "affordability" of his deal to the MKM Stadium have cropped up, which was said to include a 50% sell-on clause in Aston Villa's favour.

As a result, it has been revealed that the Tigers may now struggle to meet the terms of the agreement as well as pay Barry's wages.

There’s also a major worry about the Tigers’ financial situation, with it reported that the East Yorkshire-based outfit have been placed under a transfer embargo until 2027.

Speaking to Football League World, former Aston Villa has backed bitter West Midlands rivals Blues to pursue a move and bolster their frontline with the former Stockport County loanee.

Hendrie said: “I think with this deal at Hull, the breakdown might be down to wages, the transfer fee, and this is the problem most Championship clubs are going to struggle to contend with.

“If you’re looking at clubs that might hijack this then you’re probably looking at the top end of the Championship, someone like a Middlesbrough.

"West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City have also been linked; a number of clubs that have got stacks of potential, money to really spend this season - that’ll be the clubs that will probably be looking to hijack this deal.

“I think they should. Louie Barry is a fantastic player, he’s shown that jumping down the leagues at Stockport. I know taking that step up at Hull and getting injured was a bit of a backwards step, but he’s got stacks of abilities, plays in a number of positions in a number 10, out wide and through the middle.

"So I think it will be appealing to most of the top-end Championship clubs to hijack this deal.”