€4m Birmingham City’s bid got rejected – the League One transfer record would have been broken.

Birmingham City are certainly backing Chris Davies in the transfer market; the Blues have recently had a bid rejected.

Hannover 96 has reportedly turned down Birmingham City’s big-money offer for Phil Neumann.

According to Florian Plettenberg, a Sky Sports journalist in Germany, Neumann received an official offer within the last few days. A verbal agreement was apparently already in place, but there are some obstacles to overcome.

🚨🔵 Excl. | Birmingham have submitted an official offer for Phil Neumann in the last days as there was a verbal agreement already in place!

Value of the offer: €4m with possible add-ons included but @Hannover96 rejected immediately! @BCFC

The 27 y/o central defender with a… pic.twitter.com/PAQCZCfEkx

— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 17, 2024

The Blues made an offer of €4 million with add-ons, which Hannover rejected immediately. Despite having only one year left on his contract, the 2. Bundesliga club is’still not willing’ to sell Neumann. He is also attracting interest from Serie A club Lecce, but no talks had occurred as of Monday (July 15).

Neumann is a versatile centre-back who can also play right-back and could fit into a variety of systems. Neumann’s highest level of play is the 2.Bundesliga, Germany’s second tier.

He was a member of a few Schalke squads during their time in the Bundesliga, as well as a Europa League squad, but he never played for them. Neumann has been with Hannover since 2022, making 64 appearances so far. He has three goals and two assists, and he missed only two league games last season, starting 32 as his team finished sixth.

Neumann, who stands six feet three inches tall, could be a valuable addition to Birmingham’s back line. Their current central defensive options are Dion Sanderson and Krystian Bielik, so defensive reinforcements are required to cover the long campaign.

If the report is to be believed, a €4 million offer would have broken the record for a fee paid by a League One club. Sunderland paid a reported £3 million to sign Will Grigg from Wigan Athletic in 2019, and Emil Hansson became the fourth most expensive signing this summer, costing a reported £1.5 million.

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