"£2m maximum" - Swansea City urged to complete Birmingham City swoop | OneFootball

FLW's Swansea City fan pundit believes Siriki Dembele would be a good addition to their thin squad from Birmingham City.

Birmingham City winger Siriki Dembélé is reportedly a target of Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City, as well as three other Championship sides.

In total, Darren Witcoop reported that five clubs in the Championship have enquired about Dembélé, with Blackburn and Swansea the only two that were named.

The 27-year-old didn't have the best of seasons last time out. He wasn't favoured by Tony Mowbray during his short period as the Blues' boss due to concerns about his work rate and intensity off the ball.

He only started 26 of Birmingham's 46 league games last season, but he did end the campaign with seven direct goal contributions and was often a bright spark in an attacking sense.

Witcoop has reported that, despite the interest in the winger, who is believed to be valued at around the £1.5 million mark, from Blackburn, Swansea, and three other unnamed teams, Birmingham are happy to hold on to him.

From Swansea's perspective, their squad is thin at the moment in a number of areas, despite additions such as Eom Ji-sung bolstering Luke Williams' attacking options.

The Swansea City verdict on Birmingham City's Siriki Dembele

FLW’s Swansea fan pundit James Fleming believes his side need more than just Ji-sung, especially as Dembélé ofifers something different in attack, and has urged his side to push for the move if it can be done at the right price.

James told Football League World: "I think Siriki Dembélé is an interesting one, for me.

"You can see he is a great talent. He's a very direct winger who loves to cut inside and score goals. We've seen it plenty of times in the Championship for Birmingham.

"He scored against us a good few times, so he's definitely a top talent. "But I think the reported figures were £1.5 million, but I don't believe for one second that that will be enough to get him. "Birmingham are very fortunate financially at the minute, and will not need to sell in a panic. They will definitely hold out to get what they want for him. "I think with Eom Ji-sung coming in, I think he was potentially brought in more to play in the No.10 role. "So, I think Dembélé would be a better option out wide and would definitely help with out squad depth as well. "We are struggling with that in quite a lot of places, but I think I'd be happy to pay around £2m maximum. "I don't know if that would be enough to get him but hopefully, if Dembélé is insistent on wanting to play first-team football, then we would probably be able to get him for less than he should go for.

"He's a very talented footballer."

Player retention will prove crucial to their fortunes next term, but Birmingham may wish to cash-in on a few of their better players as well, in order to help fund their aggressive approach to the transfer window.

That said, it shouldn't be lost on Birmingham that Dembélé has already possessed such an influence in League One previously with Peterborough United, and could do so again next season.

Dembélé can play on either flank as well as through the middle and was a joy to watch throughout his stay at Peterborough. However, the right offer from a team like Swansea would still prove difficult to turn down given Birmingham's current position.

His quality belongs in the second tier, and perhaps a move to Williams' side could get more out of him than last season's showing with Blues.