Birmingham City have missed out on the signing of Karamoko Dembele, with the player set to move to Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers.
The Blues did not enjoy the start to the League One season that Chris Davies would have been hoping for as they welcomed Reading to St Andrew’s on the opening day. New signing Alfie May converted from the spot to rescue a point for Davies’ side and avoid defeat, but after a summer of spending, they will likely have been hoping for more on their opening day in the third tier.
After being relegated to the third tier for the first time in nearly 30 years, this summer has seen heavy spending from the Blues as they seemingly do not plan on being below the Championship for long, bringing in a number of high-profile signings.
Birmingham City target headed to the Championship.
As revealed by Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the former Celtic man is set to complete a move to Championship side QPR after spending the previous season on loan with League One side Blackpool, who were seeking a way out of League One in a similar fashion to Birmingham City.
Several clubs across the EFL have been linked with a move for the two-time Scottish champion, including Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle, but QPR are the club that has sealed a move for the forward for €3 million.
The move to the West London club has seen Dembele denied the opportunity to link up with his brother Siriki, who joined the Blues last summer and featured in yesterday’s draw with Reading. Stalemate with the Royals will likely have left the side looking at areas they still need to improve, and with a budget of £20 million to play with, they still have plenty to spare on other targets in the market.
QPR over Birmingham City for Dembele to get his career back on track?
After glowing remarks when first breaking into the Celtic first-team, it is safe to say that Dembele has not lived up to expectations, given he was once dubbed the ‘next Lionel Messi’. The 21-year-old made his debut for Celtic’s under-20 development team at the age of 13.
Things did not go to plan in Glasgow, and after scoring once in ten appearances for the Scottish giants, he would move to Ligue 1 with Stade Brest on a four-year deal upon the expiration of his contract. During his time in France, he made 16 appearances, where he failed to score for the French side despite being dubbed by L’Equipe as an outstanding young player.
At 21 years old, there is still plenty of time to get things back on track, and while it does not seem possible to reach the heights he was once tipped to reach, there is a lot of potential in the forward. That potential was shown in League One with the Seasiders, where he provided 23 goal contributions and picked up the Players’ Player of the Season award for the club.
