Former Birmingham City winger Jermaine Pennant has backed the Blues to make a “clever signing” after the club registered their interest in a deal earlier this month.
Chris Davies and Co have been hard at work this summer, improving the squad with fresh faces in order to mount an Ipswich-esque charge on back to back promotions.
The Blues romped to the League One title last season and have added several exciting signings to a squad already brimming with quality, with former Celtic superstar Kyogo Furuhashi the pick of the bunch while the return of Demarai Gray will get fans off their seats.
Birmingham signings: in pictures
Perhaps the one area still in need of reinforcements is the number nine department, with Tyler Roberts not an out and out striker and Kyogo more of a versatile forward who floats between roles, leaving Jay Stansfield with a lot of responsibility to stay fit and firing.
Indeed, earlier this month reports revealed the Blues are moving to rectify that situation with an approach for Leicester legend Jamie Vardy, who is a free agent after his contract with the Foxes expired earlier this summer.
Pennant backs Blues to sign Vardy
Speaking to Football FanCast on behalf of Adventure Gamers, former Birmingham winger Pennant backed a move for Vardy due to the experience and goal threat he could provide off the bench.
“He’s a proven goalscorer. If he gets a chance in the box he will score. He may not give you 90 minutes but he will give you a solid 60. He’s done it in the Premier League, he’s done it in the Championship, he’s done it in League One. You name every league he’s done it. Having someone like Vardy to bring on for the last 30 minutes or to start for a 45 if he gets a chance he will score for you. To have that in your squad, it would be a clever signing.”
Vardy’s goalscoring record and longevity is indeed remarkable, racking up 244 career goals for club and country, including nine in the top flight last season despite Leicester’s perilous form.
At his peak, the 38 year-old’s tireless running in behind was bordering on unstoppable, leading Arsene Wenger to try and sign him for Arsenal after being pipped to the Premier League title by the Vardy-led Foxes.
“I offered him a lot of money at the time,” Wenger said back in 2021. “Leicester had just won the championship at the time in 2016, and they absolutely did not want to lose him and offered him a longer contract with approximately the same money if not more.
Leicester
500
200
Fleetwood
40
34
England
26
7
Halifax Town
4
3
“He is always in the game. He doesn’t look like he mentally gets out of the game and the great strikers are like that. It means he will score at some stage. Even when he misses a chance he stays in the game.”
Vardy’s record in the Championship suggests he would have no problem adapting to a new role at St Andrews either, scoring or assisting 54 times in 98 appearances in the competition.