Birmingham City goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell is wanted by League One side Blackpool as his time at the Blues seems to have come to an end.
The Northern Irish international moved to St Andrew’s last summer but only made nine league appearances and has now become third-choice following the arrival of Brighton & Hove Albion loanee James Beadle.
He has now been linked with Blackpool, who are managed by former Blues boss Steve Bruce, and a deal for the keeper, as reported by Football League World, would see him compete for the number one jersey with new signing Franco Ravizzoli.
Tangerines chase experienced keeper
A move for Peacock-Farrell would complete a new goalkeeping pairing at Bloomfield Road after the departures of Everton loanee Harry Tyrer and veteran Richard O’Donnell.
Argentinian Ravizzoli joined the Seasiders on 27 June after being released by fellow third-tier side Wycombe Wanderers, having made 27 league appearances in 2024/25.
Still, Bruce appears to want strong competition between the sticks for the upcoming season.
Peacock-Farrell featured 16 times in all competitions last season and has experience in the Premier League and Championship for Burnley and Leeds United, as well as almost being ever-present for Sheffield Wednesday in the 2021/22 League One campaign, in which they finished fourth.
He signed for Birmingham before their title-winning season last summer after five years at Burnley, which included two loan spells, but he spent the campaign as back-up to first-choice Ryan Allsop.
His sparse appearances brought him criticism from Blues fans for mistakes he made and, with the signing of Beadle, who has collected 57 second-tier appearances for Wednesday in the past 18 months, his future in the West Midlands seems to be short.
Is he better than Ravizzoli?
If Peacock-Farrell does complete a move to Lancashire, it will be interesting to see who starts in goal for the Tangerines in their opening game of the season at home to Stevenage.
Ravizzoli’s better performances last season would make him likely to take the number one position, but Peacock-Farrell’s experience at higher levels could see Bruce favour him.
In League One last season, the former claimed a clean sheet percentage of 33.3% with nine from his 27 games, whilst the latter collected just two from his nine.
Ravizzoli also had the ninth-best save percentage in the league with 71.6%, compared to the Northern Irishman’s 57.7%.
Last season’s loanee Tyrer, who started 38 games, fell slightly behind Ravizzoli in both categories, but only by a matter of one or two percent.
Whilst Peacock-Farrell does have more experience than his counterpart and has performed well at League One level before, his recent poor showings make it more likely that the former Wycombe man will start on 2 August.
Could Blackpool be dark horses for promotion?
With serial promotion winner Bruce in charge and several promising signings being made, Blackpool fans should be excited ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Since his appointment last September, he has won 18 of his 48 matches in all competitions and holds a 37.5% win rate.
The additions of Millwall’s George Honeyman, Sheffield Wednesday’s Michael Ihiekwe and Stoke City’s Niall Ennis, who scored seven goals in 19 games on loan last campaign, all promise improvements in key areas and should help to improve on their ninth-place finish last year.
However, they are set to lose attacker Rob Apter, with promoted Charlton Athletic having a bid accepted for the Scottish youth international.
Although relegated sides Luton Town, Plymouth Argyle and Cardiff City will all be favourites to go up, Blackpool could be one of several other sides in contention alongside Stockport County, Reading and Huddersfield Town.
