Birmingham City - Moussa Dembele new twist
Aug 10 2010 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail
Birmingham City face competition for Moussa Dembele’s signature from their former owners, David Sullivan and David Gold.
The West Ham United pair have entered the running for the Belgian international striker, who also has Albion on his list of possible destinations.
Dembele and his agent are continuing to play the field after AZ Alkmaar agreed to his £5 million sale.
Blues had hoped to force an answer from the 23-year-old – who said he needed to make his mind up in the next few days – but the transfer remains up in the air.
Blues yesterday held further talks about salary and although they remain favourites, the nagging fear at St Andrew’s is that Dembele and his camp could be playing one team off against the other to maximise financial reward.
The late interest from West Ham should, on the other hand, only steel Carson Yeung and Peter Pannu’s resolve to get a deal done, given the relationship between Blues’ boardrooms past and present.
Plus, Kevin Phillips’ extended absence from duty due to the torn calf muscle sustained at the end of Saturday’s friendly against Real Mallorca has to be factored in.
