Birmingham still hoping to sign £5 million defender
Jun 16 2009 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail
Blues and manager Alex McLeish are still weighing up his credentials and other pros and cons while the Johnson transfer remains a possibility.
Onyewu, who is in South Africa with America for the Confederations Cup (they lost 3-1 to Italy yesterday) has plenty of other offers as well and is not in a rush to commit.
What appeals to Blues about the tenacious Johnson is that he is proven performer in the Championship and they know exactly what kind of player they would be getting.
Onyewu had an unhappy loan spell at Newcastle United in 2007 and is more languid in style, although he is a good athlete and played well in Europe for Liege.
As in the case of Dann, whether Johnson could make a smooth jump up to the Premier League remains to be seen.
But as much as McLeish would want to, Blues cannot afford to spend on top-flight finished articles at £8 million-£10 million a pop, and the manager is prepared to draft in younger, hungry players with an upside to go with his more experienced personnel.
Blues fended off Wolves for Dann, 22, who is expected to be officially unveiled next week when he returns from holiday.
Blues could end up paying another £500,000 to the Sky Blues in add-ons for their captain, representing a club record figure for a defender.
Espinoza, 32, has agreed a two-year contract. He would cost around $600,000 and a visa is being sought.
McLeish had arranged with Bobo Balde to link-up with Blues for the start of pre-season training on July 8 with a view to a two-year deal.
Balde’s Celtic contract is soon to expire. The 33-year-old will doubtless be tempted with other offers and it is by no means certain that he ends up at St Andrew’s.
Blues seem to have cooled somewhat on pressing ahead with a move for Newcastle United’s David Edgar, whose contract also ends on June 30.
The centre-half or right-back was put on the list of ‘possibles’, but McLeish has been concentrating more on Dann and the other defenders recently.
Johnson, 26, missed just one Championship match last season and recently underwent hip and knee surgery.
He explained that it was a ‘tidy up’ procedure and he would be fit for pre-season preparations.
