Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has played down the chances of signing Wolfsburg duo Edin Dzeko and Grafite.
Dzeko and Grafite unlikely to make Blues switch
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has played down the chances of signing Wolfsburg duo Edin Dzeko and Grafite.
McLeish is expected to be busy in the transfer market when the window reopens in January with new owner Carson Yeung promising to hand him £40million to spend.
St Andrews chief McLeish has admitted he is an admirer of Wolfburg's prolific strike-force of Dzeko and Grafite, but concedes any move is unlikely because Dzeko would cost too much and gaining a work permit could prove difficult for Brazilian Grafite.
Unlikely
"I think Grafite would be difficult in terms of getting a work permit and he is 30 years of age," said McLeish. "Are we going to spend £10-15million on a 30-year-old? I don't think so.
"Dzeko would be a fortune. It would probably take up the £40million. He has had a fantastic couple of seasons and is probably just out of our league at the moment.
"(Birmingham chief scout) Paul Montgomery did speak with his representatives. He has got a lot of fantastic contacts in Europe and he gets into these inner sanctums to get within touching distance of these players.
"But bringing them is a another matter. We are looking at the European market between now and January. We are looking at every league."
Double boost
McLeish has received a double injury boost with defenders Stuart Parnaby and Franck Queudrue available after injury for Saturday's home clash with Sunderland.
The duo have both been sidelined in recent weeks with hamstring problems, but they are now back in the reckoning.
"Franck Queudrue is available again - as is Stuart Parnaby - so we've got a couple of full-backs, although I see Franck's role this season more at centre-half.
"But we have been very short of full-backs this season and it is nice to see a couple of faces back."
Another defender in Gregory Vignal is set to resume training next week, also after a hamstring injury.
On-loan Sunderland midfielder Teemu Tainio is not eligible to face Steve Bruce's side.
