"They didn't spend £35m" - Club owner makes Birmingham City claim involving Ipswich Town | OneFootball

Peterborough United owner Darragh MacAnthony has given his view on Birmingham City's big summer spending.

Peterborough United owner Darragh MacAnthony has defended Birmingham City's spending during the summer transfer window, and he believes they could achieve back-to-back promotions like Ipswich Town.

The Blues are playing in the third tier of English football for the first time in almost 30 years this season after their relegation from the Championship last term, but they look to be in a strong position to bounce back at the first attempt after a summer of big spending.

New manager Chris Davies was given strong backing by the ambitious Birmingham board this summer, with 17 new signings arriving at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, and it has been claimed that they spent as much as £35 million in total.

The Blues had already broken the League One transfer record twice during the summer as they spent fees in the region of £3.5 million on Willum Thor Willumsson and Christoph Klarer, but they smashed it once again on deadline day to re-sign Fulham striker Jay Stansfield on a permanent basis for a reported fee of more than £15 million.

In addition to their excellent recruitment, Birmingham also managed to keep hold of most of their stars this summer, with Alex Pritchard, Jordan James, Juninho Bacuna, Siriki Dembele and Koji Miyoshi the only players to be sold.

It has been a positive start to the season on the pitch for the Blues, and Chris Davies' side head into the international break sitting third in the table after picking up 10 points from their first four league games.

Darragh MacAnthony issues bold Birmingham City prediction

MacAnthony insists he has no problem with Birmingham's spending this summer, and he believes the Blues could potentially emulate Ipswich's achievement of back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.

"Let's get it straight, they didn't spend £35m, I think it's easy when you throw add-ons in and everything else, let's say they spent £20-25 million," MacAnthony said on talkSPORT.

"I was under the impression that they had £20 million as a budget to come into League One and have a reset.

"They tried to buy four of our players all summer.

"I have no problem with what Birmingham did, they had a new owner go in there a short while ago, they had a lot of aging players on big contracts in the Championship, and they've gone in and they've reset the course. "I think it's going to set them up for an Ipswich-like run where they could potentially go back-to-back. "Even the Stansfield deal that everyone is slagging them off for overpaying, if you think about it, at his age, if he scores 20 goals in the Championship he's going to be worth £26-27 million if you go on the boy that went from Coventry abroad (Viktor Gyokeres). "It's all sensible business that they're doing, and I actually don't think they're going to have to do a hell of a lot of business when they do get promoted from League One.

"I guess everyone wants to have a go at all these teams spending money, but I have no problem with what Birmingham have done."

Given that Birmingham and Peterborough are potential promotion rivals, it is intriguing to hear MacAnthony defend their spending, but it is difficult to disagree with him that it could set them up for a bright future.

MacAnthony claims that Posh were the second-highest spenders in League One this summer at £2.1 million, but the fact the Blues spent at least 10 times that figure highlights the significant financial advantage they have over the rest of the division.

The criticism of Birmingham's spending is understandable, and it is certainly unprecedented to see a club take such an approach in the third tier, but owner Tom Wagner and CEO Garry Cook will be determined to make up for their mistakes that contributed to relegation last season.

Regardless of the exact amount the Blues spent this summer, the ambition of the board is clear, and they will likely be targeting back-to-back promotions like Ipswich, but they must first concentrate on getting out of League One before looking too far ahead.