Swoop for transfer-listed Peterborough ace must be on the cards for Birmingham City: Opinion | OneFootball

Birmingham City will be hoping to enter a new dawn later this year after comfortably retaining their place in the Championship under the guidance of head coach John Eustace.

The Blues are currently the subject of a takeover bid involving Tom Wagner.

Wagner is close to completing a deal for Birmingham, and is currently waiting to be given the green-light from the EFL.

Once this takeover deal is finalised, the Blues could potentially be able to spend a reasonable amount of money in the summer transfer window.

Eustace will unquestionably be keen to add to his attacking options in the coming months.

Birmingham are set to officially wave goodbye to loanee Reda Khadra at the end of May, while Troy Deeney will become a free-agent next month when his current deal expires.

Deeney is one of six players who are set to leave St Andrew's.

George Friend, Jordan Graham, Kevin Long, Maxime Colin and Harlee Dean will also be released by the club in June.

In terms of goals scored, Birmingham ranked 18th in the Championship during the most recent campaign, as they only managed to find the back of the net on 47 occasions in 46 league fixtures.

Scott Hogan accounted for 10 of these goals, while Deeney scored seven and Lukas Jutkiewicz scored six.

In order to have the best chance of progressing as a club next season, Birmingham will need to sign a new striker.

One of the individuals who the Blues must consider swooping for when the window opens is Jonson Clarke-Harris.

What is the latest regarding Jonson Clarke-Harris' situation at Peterborough United?

As confirmed by Peterborough United's official website, Clarke-Harris has been placed on the transfer-list by the League One outfit.

This news comes as a major surprise given the forward's escapades in the third-tier during the 2022/23 term.

Clarke-Harris managed to find the back of the net on 27 occasions at this level, and was named in the League One Team of the Season last month.

Why should Birmingham City swoop for Clarke-Harris this summer?

A stand-out performer for Peterborough, Clarke-Harris also managed to chip in with four assists for his team-mates, and recorded an impressive average WhoScored match rating of 7.29 in the third-tier.

Given that Birmingham are capable of offering the Jamaica international the chance of playing in the Championship again next season, he may be tempted to make the switch to St Andrew's.

During the 2021/22 campaign, Clarke-Harris demonstrated why he would be a good addition to the Blues' squad.

Despite the fact that Posh were relegated from the Championship in this particular term, the forward still managed to provide a respectable total of 15 direct goal contributions at this level.

The Blues witnessed first-hand just how deadly Clarke-Harris can be as he scored for Posh in a 3-0 win at the Weston Homes Stadium in 2021 and netted at St Andrew's in a 2-2 draw in January 2022.

Providing that Clarke-Harris is able to replicate these performance levels in a Blues shirt later this year, he could have a positive impact on Birmingham's fortunes.

Clarke-Harris' arrival will also force Hogan to step up his performance levels over the course of the campaign.

The only obstacle that Birmingham will need to overcome in this pursuit will be the transfer fee that Posh will be seeking.

With the 28-year-old's deal set to run until 2024, Peterborough will still be able to ask any potential suitor to table a sizeable bid.

Providing that the Blues are able to reach a reasonable agreement with Posh, they could go on to achieve a reasonable amount of success with Clarke-Harris in their side.