Birmingham City and Wrexham join Millwall in race for Hull City player | OneFootball

Ryan Longman has appeared on the radar of both Birmingham City and Wrexham

Third tier newcomers Birmingham City and Wrexham have now joined the race to sign Hull City's Ryan Longman.

That's according to the Mirror, who claim that the sides both freshly-relegated and newly-promoted to League One are signaling their ambitions by joining Championship outfit Millwall in this particular transfer saga.

It might have been all change at Longman's parent club Hull City, but it seems that the club's stance on the former Brighton and Hove Albion winger remains the same under new boss Tim Walter, whose reign at the MKM Stadium officially commenced today at the start of pre-season.

Both Birmingham and Wrexham's American ownership models have been well-documented in the last year, and they are both expected by outsiders to enjoy strong seasons, and this particular transfer tussle could end up being a key battle in their aims too.

Ambitious League One sides in battle for Hull City winger

As stated above, this fresh report from the Mirror understands that there is concrete interest from both the Second City and North Wales outfits in their pursuit for the 23-year-old winger.

Both sides have been active already in the transfer market, particularly Birmingham, who have already signed one player from East Yorkshire in the form of Ryan Allsop, whilst Bailey Peacock-Farrell has also put pen to paper at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

Meanwhile, the supposed financial war-chest at Chris Davies' disposal has also been made public knowledge, as Alan Nixon revealed via his Patreon account that the new Blues boss would have a £20m budget to cover transfer fees and wages, which has also seen them linked with Rangers vice captain, Connor Goldson and the reportedly pending acquisition of Alfie May from Charlton Athletic.

Wrexham may not have that exact amount of financial muscle, but that doesn't deter their ambitions, having already acquired Arthur Okonkwo on a permanent basis from Arsenal, and the signing of Longman would also prove Phil Parkinson's ambitions of becoming an established League One outfit at the first time of asking.

Championship interest in Ryan Longman

However, the two aforementioned sides continue to face competition from Millwall, where Longman enjoyed a somewhat successful loan spell under Gary Rowett, Joe Edwards and latterly, Neil Harris.

Harris oversaw the Lions' final 13 matches in the Championship, and a total of eight wins in that time dragged his side away from the relegation mire to a 13th-place finish.

During this period was also Longman's most profitable period of the season, as he registered two goals and as many assists in the final seven games of the campaign, which included Millwall's Goal of the Season with a remarkable curling effort against eventual champions Leicester City at the Den on April 9th.

Such was the impression the former AFC Wimbledon loanee made on Harris, the Lions boss made his intentions clear to strike a permanent deal with the Tigers after the final game of last season.

"Ryan Longman’s done excellently and I’m sure there’ll be a discussion. Ryan has made it very clear that he’d like to be here and he’s done excellently for me, so there will be some discussions to see if there’s anything possible there," The 46-year-old told Southwark News.

Furthermore, the initial report on Monday from the Mirror also claims that other sides in the second tier are plotting their own moves for Longman, although no further potential destinations have been mooted besides North Wales, B9 or South London.

Ryan Longman would be a solid addition to Wrexham or Birmingham City

Despite the intent both League One sides are trying to show in this transfer saga, the addition of Longman would be very shrewd.

We've seen glimpses of individual brilliance from the Redhill-born winger in the second tier, and the step down to the third tier would potentially only increase his output of goal contributions.

Birmingham CEO Garry Cook has spoken about the task of assembling a Championship-standard squad in the third tier, and Longman would definitely fall into said category, as well as having the potential to grow with the club and their ambitions.

Millwall will be extremely frustrated at allowing a permanent deal to stretch to this point, and now Longman's next destination is firmly up in the air.