Birmingham City signing J.League star would surely put a pin in possible Aston Villa transfer | OneFootball

Birmingham City's move for Taichi Hara would pull the plug on any interest in Aston Villa's Louie Barry.

Birmingham City have been linked with a move for Japanese winger Taichi Hara, who currently plays for J-League side Kyoto Sanga.

The Blues have been very busy in the transfer market thus far, bringing hugely talented players such as Tommy Doyle, Demarai Gray, and Kyogo Furuhashi to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

The newly-promoted side have their eyes set on back-to-back promotions after smashing the points record in League One last season, and with their business so far, it's hard to imagine them not fighting at the summit of the Championship next term.

Birmingham City turn to Asia in search of a new winger

Birmingham are also showing no signs of slowing down in the transfer market, as reports from CaughtOffside have now suggested that the Midlands-based club are exploring a move for J-League star Hara.

The 26-year-old has caught the attention of scouts with his recent performances, and signing him could mean the Blues pull the plug on any potential move for Aston Villa star Louie Barry.

Tom Wagner has revolutionised Birmingham in his short stint at the club, and is showing no signs of slowing down progress towards the ultimate goal of becoming a Premier League powerhouse.

With plenty of quality additions already, the Blues are now reportedly looking to Asia as they continue their hunt for a new winger, with two players being monitored by the Midlands outfit.

Hara, of Kyoto Sanga, is one of those options currently being assessed by Birmingham, with an unnamed South Korean winger who is reportedly close to becoming a free agent also under consideration by Chris Davies' side.

The former has impressed in the J-League this year, with two goals and seven assists in 19 league outings for his club, and a string of impressive performances to boot which have caught the eye of scouts.

Hata move will put the pin in potential Aston Villa raid

Another name that was under consideration by Birmingham is Barry, who is currently contracted to bitter local rivals Aston Villa, but has an uncertain future at the Premier League club, and has recently had a move to Hull City collapse.

Whilst it was reported by Birmingham World that the Blues never held talks with their city rivals over any potential deal to bring Barry to the blue side of Birmingham, there was said to be interest from Davies' side, prior to the collapse of the Hull transfer.

Even though the 22-year-old hasn't made a move yet, the new direction of Birmingham's focus in the transfer window suggests that any interest in the former Barcelona youngster has been firmly squashed by the recruitment team at St Andrew's.

If the League One champions do strike a deal to sign Hata or the unnamed winger who they also reportedly hold interest in, this would certainly put a pin in any potential move across the second city for Barry.

Like Barry, Hara is primarly a left-winger, and with Keshi Anderson, Emil Hansson and Demarai Gray all now on the books and battling for game-time in that same area, signing Barry on top of Hara seems highly unlikely.

The youngster isn't short of options when it comes to new clubs, with Sheffield United reportedly holding interest, and Hull not giving up the ghost on making a permanent move for Barry just yet, so not moving to Birmingham, where fewer minutes will be on offer, won't feel like a missed opportunity from the player's perspective either.