Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung has flown into England today in an attempt to secure the transfer of Roman Pavlyuchenko. The transfer has been put in doubt after City refused to meet the £13million Spurs are demanding for the player. Yeung is believed to be a big admirer of the Russian but will not be forced into breaking the bank. Tottenham are seen to be trying to use his successful cameo appearance against Leeds as a way of adding value to a player who has failed to make a Premier League start this season.
Should City be priced out of a move for Pav then McLeish has already stated that they may look elsewhere. Arouna Dindane has been linked with the club after his permanent move to Portsmouth fell through due to ongoing financial problems at Fratton Park. Dindane’s club Lens will be eager to offload the player before the transfer deadline but, despite being valued at nearly 3 times as much, McLeish would prefer to secure a deal for Pavlyuchenko.
Speaking to The Guardian, McLeish said “He would be good for us here. We are also looking at others, but if we get a breakthrough on him then that would be great. He moves well, he keeps the ball, technically is good and is a great finisher.”
Transfer negotiations at St.Andrews have been dealt with by Peter Pannu, Birmingham’s vice-chairman, but Yeung has flown in to add weight to their attempts and put his personal approval on any deal. Saturdays encounter between the two clubs may provide the opportunity to add icing to City’s Russian cake.
Spurs have confirmed that they have signed Icelandic international Eidur Gudjohnsen. The ex-Chelsea striker had originally been linked with West Ham until a last minute attempt by Spurs managed to sway his decision towards North London. Gudjohnsen has become a versatile player in his years at Barcelona and Harry Redknapp believes he can solve a problem for them.
“He can play several positions for us, he can play in a midfield or attacking midfield role if we want to change our system. We’ve lost Aaron Lennon (to injury) so we haven’t got a great deal of width. We can play a diamond formation if we want to and he can be a big player in that system.”
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