Birmingham battling Championship rivals for Newcastle United transfer agreement | OneFootball

Birmingham City have entered the race to sign Newcastle United goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, journalist Alan Nixon has reported via Patreon.

Woodman has made just a handful of first-team appearances for Newcastle to date, and has spent much of the last three seasons on loan in the Championship with Swansea and Bournemouth.

Now it seems as though the 25-year-old could be about to find himself back in English football’s second-tier again next season.

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According to this latest update, Birmingham have now joined fellow Championship side Preston in their pursuit of Woodman, after the Blues hit hurdles in their attempts to bring Jack Butland back to the club.

Preston have apparently been pursuing for some weeks, with this emerging interest from elsewhere now putting pressure on them to get a deal done.

It is thought that Woodman will listen to any offers, with the goalkeeper looking set to leave Newcastle this summer, potentially in a loan move with the option to buy.

One advantage that Preston could apparently have in their pursuit of Woodman, is that coach Mike Marsh previously worked with the goalkeeper during his time at Swansea.

The Verdict

This does look as though it would be a very good signing for Birmingham if they could pull it off.

The Blues do look to be in need of a new goalkeeper to provide cover and competition for Neil Etheridge, with Matija Sarkic now back at Wolves after his loan spell.

Woodman would oviously provide that, and while his time with Bournemouth may not exactly have workd out, his performances for Swansea mean there should be no doubt that he is a more than reliable option between the posts at Championship level.

Beating a second-tier rival such as Preston to his signing could also be a welcome show of intent from Birmingham given the off-field frustrations there have been around the club recently, meaning this does feel like one worth pursuing for those in charge at St Andrew’s.