Birmingham City in talks to sign Brighton man after Preston North End deal falters | OneFootball

Reports have suggested that Birmingham City have begun talks over the possibility of signing Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Marc Leonard.

The Blues are preparing for their first season at League One level since the 1994/95 campaign, having spent an unbroken cycle of nearly 30 years at either Championship or Premier League standard.

However, after years of flirting with the relegation trap door out of the second tier, Birmingham eventually succumbed to relegation after an extremely turbulent season at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, which included six permanent or temporary managers.

Therefore, as they prepare for life in the third tier, stability and clarity will be at the forefront of Tom Wagner's mind, and reports are hinting that the club may have already kick-started their recruitment drive.

Birmingham City begin swoop for Brighton midfielder

That's because transfer guru Alan Nixon has exclusively revealed via his Patreon account that the West Midlands outfit have identified Seagulls midfielder Marc Leonard as a key target.

Nixon states that Birmingham want to make the 22-year-old central midfield player their first signing of the summer, and have already begun talks about making those aims a distinct possibility.

The report goes on to reference that Leonard is unsurprisingly the subject of interest from clubs in the Championship, given his stellar performances across two years on loan with fellow League One outfit, Northampton Town.

Many clubs in the last 12 months have expressed their desires to take the midfielder either on loan or permanently from the AMEX Stadium, which has only intensified past the conclusion of last season and the imminent opening of the summer transfer window.

It was revealed at the beginning of May that Hull City - who were still under the management of former Seagulls youth coach and full-back Liam Rosenior at the time - had shown an interest alongside freshly-relegated Sheffield United for a potential swoop.

This came in addition to Plymouth Argyle, Cardiff City and Preston North End's long-standing interest in the man who registered 11 goal contributions in 49 appearances for the Cobblers last term.

PNE have already seen their attempts to sign the Scottish midfielder break down, with the Lancashire Post reporting that talks ended when wage demands could not be met.

Furthermore, Blues aren't the only League One side plotting a potential move for Leonard's signature, with the equally ambitious Wrexhamjoining the race in this developing transfer saga, despite being two divisions apart from Birmingham this time 12 months ago.

The aforementioned link with the Red Dragons also states that Brighton are making his services available for a bargain price of just £300,000, as the Scotland youth international has just one year left on his deal on the South Coast, although there is an option to trigger a 12-month extension.

Marc Leonard could be an ideal Jordan James replacement at Birmingham City

Despite suffering the heartbreak of relegation, Birmingham's recently published 'Retained List' showcases a squad that will be expected to challenge immediately for a first-time promotion, even though they could look set to lose one of their prized assets in Wales international, Jordan James.

The 19-year-old has been the subject of interest from Leicester City, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Serie A outfit Atalanta, who rekindled their interest in the midfielder after seeing bids rejected in January.

If Blues were able to make a sizeable profit on their academy graduate and acquire the services of another highly-regarded box-to-box midfielder for such a nominal price, it makes it a win-win situation for all involved, also allowing for significant investment across other areas of the squad.