£80m pledge to help make Birmingham City the next Manchester United
Sammy Yu.
Nevertheless, it’s the kind of bonanza long-suffering Blues fans have only been able to dream about previously.
And McLeish - who again was assured about his future - has already been drawing up a list of top stars with which to boost his team.
Yeung explained: “The £40 million in the January transfer window is my commitment to the Birmingham
fans.
“We have made that decision to spend the money to buy the players. The money is in place and available.
“The priority for now is staying in the Premier League. Next season we put more than £40 million into the team, making it much stronger.”
Yu, as Blues vice-chairman football, will be working closely with McLeish to identify and then land new talent.
He admitted: “By this, Carson is giving pressure to me and Alex to make sure we buy the right player, at the right price.
“We do not think we will necessarily go out there and spend all the £20 million - £40 million. It’s a matter of are we having the right player.”
Yeung’s business model primarily revolves around Blues exploiting the massive China market of 1.3 billion people. To maximise their chances of success, Blues have to remain a credible Premier League side, and brand.
“Because we have businesses in China we have the contacts to sell Birmingham already,” said Yeung.
“We will be more popular than Manchester United and Chelsea. We are confident, we have power, we have content, we have comrades and we will work together.
“China is a very big market, many people love football, we can bring Birmingham, the English Premier League, their football culture, to China. To be an international team.
“Birmingham will be popular in China because it has Chinese owners. They knew about Birmingham before but now I have come here, the Chinese media and the people want to know more.
“It is our ambition to be up there with Manchester United and Chelsea. With Birmingham and all the fans, we want it.”
Yeung added: “We are thinking of European football, yes, but step by step.
“For future players, I do not want one star name, I want a few popular stars. But that is for the future, in time.”
