Birmingham City set to beat Swansea to bargain deal for ex-Derby County star | OneFootball

It's already been a rather busy summer for Birmingham City.

After releasing a number of senior players at the end of last season, there were plenty of places to fill, and on top of that, the Blues went on to lose Tahith Chong to newly-promoted Luton Town.

There've been several incomings, though, and positively, these have, so far, all been permanent deals, putting the club in a great place heading towards the future.

Dion Sanderson, Ethan Laird, Krystian Bielik, Tyler Roberts, Koji Myoshi, Keshi Anderson, and Siriki Dembele are the seven new names to arrive at St Andrews so far this summer, but it appears there is about to be an eighth name added to that list.

Birmingham City set to beat Swansea City to sign Lee Buchanan

That is according to Alan Nixon via Patreon, who reports that the Blues are set to win the race with Swansea City to sign wing-back Lee Buchanan.

The Welsh club are reported to have had discussions with the former Derby player, but instead, he is now set to join Birmingham City in what Nixon dubs a 'bargain deal'.

Interestingly, the wing-back is set to join from German club Werder Bremen on an initial loan deal.

This is a loan with a view to a permanent deal, though, with the Blues also said to have offered Buchanan a long-term contract.

Who is Lee Buchanan?

Having come through the youth ranks at Derby, Lee Buchanan enjoyed his breakthrough season at the club during their struggles off the field in 2020/21, as did many of their young stars at that time.

Buchanan went on to become a regular under Wayne Rooney, eventually making 75 senior appearances for the Rams before moving on last summer when their relegation to League One was confirmed.

In his only season in the Bundesliga, Buchanan made 21 appearances for Werder Bremen, but now looks set to return to the Championship.

How much is Lee Buchanan set to cost Birmingham City?

As mentioned above, this is a loan deal with a view to making it permanent, according to Alan Nixon.

Therefore, this summer, no sort of transfer fee will need to be paid for Buchanan.

Obviously, that will change if the Blues want to make it a permanent deal, but given Nixon has dubbed the proposed deal a 'bargain' Blues supporters should feel comfortable with the finances on this one, even if we are not 100% sure what they are.

Where does Lee Buchanan fit in at Birmingham City?

Given the deal is set to get done, taking a look at Birmingham City's current squad, you can see where Buchanan fits in.

With only one recognised left-back on their books at present in Emmanuel Longelo, Buchanan comes in as depth and competition for the 22-year-old.

This gives Birmingham City two young, talented options on the left side of their defence.