Birmingham City transfer ‘deal’ claimed amid rejected £4m bid

Birmingham City have reportedly had a bid worth almost £4m rejected by Hannover 96 for the services of defender Phil Neumann. Centre-half Neumann, 27, has just one year left on his contract with German second-tier Hannover, but the club are keen for him heading into the new season.

Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sport in Germany reported that the Blues and Neumann had agreed personal terms but that Hannover – who finished sixth in the Bundesliga last season – blocked the move by rejecting the offer they had been made , said to be in the region of £4m.

Neumann is a versatile defender who can also operate as a right back. He has been with H96 since 2022, when he signed from Holstein Kiel, who incidentally finished second last year and were promoted to the Bundesliga. A product of the Schalke academy, Neumann also spent time in his playing career with Ingolstadt and represented Germany at under-19 and under-20 level.

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The Blues have been busy enough so far this summer under new boss Chris Davies as they work with the club’s recruitment team led by Craig Gardner to reshape the squad after relegation.

A host of players have left the club following the relegation, with more still – including Juninho Bacuna – expected to leave before the start of the new season.

So far, the Blues have completely overhauled their goalkeeping department, recruiting both Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Ryan Allsop. They have also added striker Alfie May, winger Emil Hansson and, most recently, left-back Alex Cochrane from Hearts, but many more signings are expected to be tracked and completed over the next six weeks.

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