Birmingham City are set to miss out in a £2.5million battle with Championship sides QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland for the addition of a talented striker.
The Blues have hit the League One transfer market by force, willing to splash the cash to secure the top talents from across Europe as well as gazumping their promotion rivals to signings.
They have already beat out Huddersfield Town to the signing of League One Golden Boot winner Alfie May and convinced Marc Leonard that St Andrews is the place to be against a huge amount of interest.
However, one of their prime targets, Troyes striker Ike Ugbo is set to turn them down as he reportedly moves closed to a move to Sunderland. Queens Park Rangers are already out of the race whilst Sheffield Wednesday and the Blue are part of the trailing pack.
According to The Star, the Black Cats are now likely to win the race for the forward, whose price tag is understood to be set at £2.5 million.
Ugbo impressed during a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday last season, and it was believed that the club would bring him back on a permanent deal, but the interest from other clubs has made it more difficult to secure his return. The player has been training away from the Troyes first team with a move drawing closer.
Birmingham City Champions Elect?
When clubs the size of Birmingham City drop into the third tier it causes a splash, after the start of last season there is no way that the club should be anywhere near League One next season, yet the appointment of Wayne Rooney and some disastrous choices have meant they enter the 24/25 season on a level playing ground with the likes of Crawley Town who was flirting with relegation to non-league just two seasons ago.
With their huge revenue they can afford to spend big to ensure their stay is short, and with the backing they have received you could argue that 2nd place would be a failure. However, there are still some question marks over Chris Davies, not due to his ability, but due to his inexperience at this level these questions could be answered pretty quickly when the season starts. Birmingham City have also got a huge amount of talent on the books now and keeping them happy may be a challenge in itself.