The latest on Birmingham City’s progressing pursuit of Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Tommy Doyle.
Birmingham City are now in advanced talks to sign midfielder Tommy Doyle from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham World understands.
Chris Davies has given the green light for Blues to push hard to sign Doyle on a season-long loan deal with an obligation to buy if promotion to the Premier League is achieved. There’s competition from a host of other clubs including Sunderland and Sheffield United but negotiations between Birmingham and Wolves are thought to be advancing.
There’s still plenty of finer details to iron out including the fee for Blues’ obligation to buy in the case of promotion, as well as personal terms with the player. Discussions are well underway to address these points, though, and there’s optimism that a deal can be completed.
Tommy Doyle has several options, including Birmingham
Doyle himself has been informed of the possibility to leave Wolves for Birmingham and is weighing up whether that would be the correct move at this stage of his career. Just 12 months ago, the 23-year-old left Manchester City to join Wanderers as a frequent starter but his minutes weren’t quite as regular and consistent as hoped.
During his initial loan spell in 2023/24, Doyle played 32 times for Wolves across all competitions. Former manager Gary O’Neil liked the former England Under-21 international’s creativity and vision but Vitor Pereira has much preferred starting Andre Trindade and Joao Gomes in an all-Brazilian midfield pairing.
In total, Doyle racked up just 656 minutes last term, leaving him frustrated. A transfer away makes sense and he could be available for as little as the £4.3 million that was paid to sign him from Man City a year ago, as Wolves are just hoping to balance the books on that front.
Birmingham are just one option of many, with Sunderland and Sheffield United just two alternatives out of a long list of unnamed clubs interested. More teams are bound to make approaches to Wolves, so it’s in Blues’ best interests to progress the deal as quickly as possible.
How would Doyle fit in at Birmingham?
If Doyle were to join Blues, he would likely become a guaranteed starter right away. Although Tomoki Iwata and Paik Seung-ho maintained a formidable and mightily consistent partnership in League One, there’s no doubting Doyle is a level above. Of Iwata and Paik, the former would be the likeliest to play alongside Doyle.
Another option would be to play Doyle as a number 10 as he has excellent vision. Assists have never been particularly regular for Doyle in the past but he’s often played as a deeper-lying playmaker to kickstart attacks rather than finish them off, so that’s not too much of a surprise.
Despite his infrequent game time last season, Doyle ranked very highly among Premier League midfielders in a host of key statistics. The former Man City man’s 7.77 accurate long balls per 90 minutes, for example, couldn’t be bettered by anyone else in the division. Meanwhile, Doyle was in the top five per cent of midfielders for recoveries, touches and successful dribbles per 90.
Although the sample size was rather small, these metrics suggest Doyle is more than capable of competing at a Premier League level. As a result, a drop to the Championship could really see him flourish – just as he did at Sheffield United three seasons ago.
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