Championship transfers: Portsmouth rivals in talks over Sunderland deal as Hull City man free to leave
Some of Pompey's Championship rivals are already making moves as the January transfer window prepares to open for business.
Birmingham City owner Tom Wagner has revealed the Blues are in talks with Premier League club Sunderland over a key January transfer window deal.
The Midlands club have endured a mixed return to the Championship and will head into their New Years Day visit to play-off contenders Watford sitting seven points adrift of the top six. That comes on the back of an ambitious summer transfer window that saw the likes of Japan international Kyogo Furuhashi, Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle and Fenerbahce Bright Osayi-Samuel all snapped up.
There was some surprise when the Blues also secured a season-long loan deal for Sunderland winger Patrick Roberts just months after the Black Cats star had helped Regis Le Bris’ side secure promotion into the Premier League. The former Manchester City man has provided two goals and two assists in 17 Championship appearances and is likely to play a key role in helping Birmingham in their push for the play-off spots.
Wagner has already admitted the Blues are ‘working hard’ on a possible permanent deal for Roberts and stressed his club will ‘run hard at all opportunities’ during the window in an attempt to improve their fortunes during the second half of the season.
He told The Telegraph: “We’re working really hard there. January is always tough because the number of options that are available to you is always lower. But we’ve got a few things that we’d like to accomplish, and areas where we think we can find additional talent to support our existing squad. We’ll run hard at all of those opportunities and hopefully we’ll find some ways to do even better.”
Hull City defender ‘unhappy’ as exit admission made
Hull City are firmly in the race for the Premier League and will head into the new year sitting just two points adrift of the Championship automatic promotion places.
The Tigers will be hoping to boost their squad during the January transfer window to boost their hopes of securing a return to English football’s top flight - but it is news of a potential departure that has dominated the headlines over the last 48 hours. Former Leeds United full-back Cody Drameh has struggled to make an impact during the first half of the season and has not played a minute in the Tigers’ last seven Championship fixtures. Head coach Sergej Jakirovic has now admitted the defender could leave the club during the transfer window and stressed he will try to ‘find him a good option’.
He told Hull Live: "Yes (he could leave), Cody is not happy. I don't know why, because he played a lot of games and he had some injury problems. We will try to find him a good option. He's under contract for another 18 months, so it must be a very good bid if he wants to leave Hull City. I don't want to have unhappy players here, unsatisfied players, because this is not good for the club, for the group, and we will try to help him."
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