McLeish still looking to add

McLeish: Work in progress

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• Birmingham City
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• Charles N'Zogbia

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Alex McLeish looks set to miss out on Charles N'Zogbia, but is still keen to bring fresh faces to Birmingham.

The Blues boss has spent much of the summer scouting potential new recruits, however, he has so far added just two to his squad.

Ben Foster and Nikola Zigic have been drafted in, but their arrivals have only served to cover the departures of last season's loan stars Joe Hart and Christian Benitez.

As a result, McLeish is still looking to bring in the added quality he feels the club need to progress.

Wigan winger N'Zogbia was one of those on his wish list, but he admits the Frenchman could prove too costly.

Prices

McLeish told Sky Sports News: "That one looks as if it is dead at the moment. I'm not saying totally dead, but it looks like a difficult one, given the asking prices. Whether we can go to that level I'm not so sure, so maybe that's for another day.

"We are looking at three or four other situations. We haven't improved the squad, we have just kept it at the same level. You consider Nikola coming in and Foster coming in to replace the two guys. You might say Nikola is far more experienced at the top level than Chucho, but he has got to prove that he can be as effective."

Birmingham have been linked with a lengthy list of names over recent weeks, including Juan Roman Riquelme, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Alexander Hleb, but McLeish has refused to confirm or deny his interest in any of those mentioned.

He added: "There are a lot of names we have been linked with and some are half-true and some are very much flyers. I don't want to say yes or no to certain names that have been mentioned.

"N'Zogbia is one I can mention because we have put a bid in there, but as for the others I don't think that it is right I should answer until we have got something over the line.

"It only serves to disappoint, certainly the supporters, if we don't get some of the names we have been linked with into St Andrews. We will pull out the stops and try and bring a bit of added quality."

Project

Resolving his own future at St Andrews is another priority for McLeish, and he admits he is closing in on an agreement.

He continued: "I have done a lot for the infrastructure at the club so it stands to reason that I wouldn't want to leave that project. We are still developing.

"The contract talks have probably gone on longer than everybody would have liked. It was my fault in the beginning, but now we have our advisors back this week and we will try to get something sorted. We have some figures and it's about trying to agree to something.

"But, at the end of the day, I still have another year and then my contract runs into rolling anyway so if we don't agree to anything it's not as if I can walk out on the club at the end of the season. I want to be here for a long time."