Birmingham City need to raise bid for Coventry City star

Jun 5 2009 By Andy Walker

And the Blues co-owner has dropped the biggest hint yet that Ecuador international Giovanny Espinoza is likely to be one of those successful defensive pursuits.

Sullivan, who also refused to deny that the goalkeeper Blues are in ‘advanced negotiations’ with is Manchester City’s Joe Hart, said: “We hope that within two weeks to bring in another South American player. An established international who has played 80 times for his country and will put some backbone into our defence. “

Barcelona Sporting Club man Espinoza is a vastly-experienced defender who has gained 84 caps for Ecuador, including appearances at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

During a recent radio interview on 11.52 Gold Sullivan also added: “We hope to sign some younger players to go round them and build a mixture of old and new. A good balance between some seasoned pros and exciting young players who have got a bit to prove.

“We are chasing six centre-halves at the moment, if we get two of them then we will be pleased. The demand for very modest players is very scary.

“We’ve got to try and spend our money wisely and hope that some of the players turn out better than what they cost.”

And as Blues continue to make strides in their search of centre-back reinforcements, there is still a strong possibility that they will land Standard Liege’s American centre-back Oguchi Onyewu, who has been scouted by Alex McLeish on numerous occasions.

Talks have already been held with Onyewu’s representatives as Blues attempt to strike a deal for the free agent.