Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish still undecided on American defender

May 29 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

But he has to juggle his budget carefully this summer and compare alternatives.

As McLeish hasn’t got the pick of the cream – and £8million signings, for example, appear out of his range – he is determined to leave no stone unturned in his quest to get the right fits.

He said: “As with any player, I’ve got to be meticulous and do the diligence.”

McLeish said Blues had been bombarded by agents since that glory day at Reading.

He said: “We’ve worked our socks off, especially the last three weeks or so. There’s a whole range of players we’ve been documenting for the board.

“We’re getting names now put into us – it’s lastminute.com – that you just don’t get enough of a chance to have a second look at. In some cases we don’t need a second look and some players we have kept away from over the last 18 months have saved the club a fortune.”