How much it may cost Birmingham City in wages if they sign Wolves star Hwang Hee-Chan | OneFootball

Blues have been linked with a potential ambitious move for the Wolves forward

Birmingham City have made plenty of waves when it comes to summer transfer activity thus far, a theme which is likely to continue between now and Deadline Day on September 1st.

American ownership group, Knighthead Capital Management, have continuously spoken about their ambition to end Blues' lengthy exile from the Premier League, and after a season of record-breaking exploits on and off the pitch in League One, Chris Davies has already seen several statement additions move to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park before the beginning of the Championship campaign.

As well as seeing loan moves for Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Alfons Sampsted made permanent, Phil Neumann's pre-contract addition was confirmed before James Beadle, Tommy Doyle, Demarai Gray, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Kyogo Furuhashi and Kanya Fujimoto also came through the door in B9.

The standout of the aforementioned deals is a reported £10m fee for Kyogo, with the former Celtic cult hero moving from Rennes after just six months with the Ligue 1 side.

Birmingham had already tapped into the Asian market prior to this window, with Seung-Ho Paik and Tomoki Iwata already fan favourites with the Tilton for the way they compliment each other at the base of Davies' midfield. And, whilst a move may not come to fruition, the Second City club have now been credited with interest in Wolves forward, Hwang Hee-Chan.

Birmingham City's ambitious interest in Wolves forward Hwang Hee-Chan

The South Korean has been on the Molineux books since the summer of 2021, having initially joined on loan from RB Leipzig - a deal which was made permanent in the following transfer window for £14m.

Hwang has donned the Old Gold and Black on 119 occasions under Bruno Lage, Julen Lopetegui, Gary O'Neil and now Vitor Pereira, scoring 24 times and registering eight assists. His most productive season was the 2023/24 campaign, during which he netted 12 times in 29 Premier League appearances, before Wolves rejected a £21m bid from Marseille for his services.

The 29-year-old endured a frustrating campaign last term, and saw his gametime diminish following Pereira's arrival. He is under contract at Molineux until 2028, although there is growing speculation that he will be allowed to leave the club between now and September.

However, he is unlikely to make the short switch across the West Midlands despite Blues' well-documented and never-ending ambitions, with Birmingham Live reporting that, whilst the 71-time international is understandably admired by the Championship side, a deal isn't financially viable right now.

Hwang Hee-Chan's estimated wages at Wolves amid Birmingham City links

Why a deal may not materialise could, in some ways, be down to Hwang's current wage at Molineux as he enters the final three years of his current contract.

According to Capology - a site which ESTIMATES player earnings - the striker is taking home a weekly pay packet of £70,000 per week, which equates to £3,640,000 across the course of a season.

The aforementioned salary also makes him the joint-third-highest earner at his current club alongside Joao Gomes, with only Fabio Silva (£80,000) and Goncalo Guedes (£90,000) receiving greater salaries. Hwang's current earnings are also £39,631 above the average salary based across the collective earnings of Pereira's current squad.

If Hwang was to move to Birmingham on the same figures, he would be one of the highest earners in the Championship in an instant, with Southampton duo Joe Aribo and Jan Bednarek also earning £70,000 per week, a sum only bettered by six divisional counterparts - all of whom feature for the Saints or fellow newly-relegated outfit, Leicester City.

To even have the Korean as a potential transfer target speaks volumes as to how far Blues have come in such a short period, and it is also unlikely that supporters will be frustrated by the developments, as Davies can focus on packing out the squad in areas which need extensive depth and quality.

Many would argue that this has already been achieved in the attacking department, or at least, it can be by acquiring players on deals which make much greater financial sense.