Exclusive: Lee Hendrie reveals how Sunderland could affect Birmingham City's Kwame Poku plan | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie believes Birmingham City may struggle to sign Kwame Poku due to interest from Sunderland and Sheffield United

Kwame Poku has been the subject of extensive transfer speculation over the past few months, with Birmingham City willing to offer the forward a bumper contract.

Football League World exclusively revealed that the Blues are prepared to spend £30,000 per week on the Peterborough United forward’s deal, but Poku is taking his time during negotiations.

According to recent reports from GiveMeSport, Sunderland and Sheffield United have entered the race to sign Poku alongside 24 other clubs, including Birmingham City.

Sky Sports pundit and former Aston Villa midfielder, Lee Hendrie, weighed in on the situation exclusively to Football League World.

Lee Hendrie assesses Kwame Poku transfer saga

“I think Poku is a really, really good player,” stated Hendrie. "He’s a young player who has got bags of ability, but obviously there are a lot of clubs that are sniffing around him, like Sunderland and Sheffield United.

“Birmingham are a team like Wrexham, who are newly promoted. I think they've got to bring in the right personnel who know the league and have got potential to go again. That's what Birmingham and Wrexham will be looking to do this season.

“I think Poku would be a great addition for them. But there are clubs that definitely want to sign this young man. If Sunderland come in with an offer, you would think that being in the Premier League is the ultimate aim for some of these guys.

“As a player, you want to play at the top level and test yourself. I'm sure that Poku is the same because he's got the ability to go and play at the top of the Championship, maybe even the Premier League.

“If Birmingham have that drive, which I think they will have next season, it wouldn't be a bad thing for Poku to go to there knowing that he'll play football week in, week out.

“But on the flip side, after Sunderland’s promotion to the Premier League, they need players. If Poku had to choose out of the two, it wouldn't surprise me if he picked Sunderland.”

Birmingham must get Kwame Poku deal over the line

For a saga that has dragged on this long, it would be tough for Birmingham City to take if they now missed out on Poku.

The Blues have allocated valuable time and resources in a bid to acquire Poku’s services, so obviously value the forward immensely.

Poku was one of the biggest forward threats in League One this season, with the 23-year-old raising the eyebrows of so many EFL clubs after his 12 goals and eight assists from 27 league appearances.

The prospect has endless potential and could become one of the Football League’s star performers over the next few years. As a result, the Blues can’t miss their opportunity to capture the Peterborough man.

Birmingham will hope that the 23-year-old values playing time over career progression, because if not, the Premier League pull Sunderland now possess may pay dividends.