After a slow start to the season, a fine run of form has lifted Birmingham City to mid-table and they will have one eye on the play-offs.

Whilst there have been many factors for that, with Garry Monk deserving plenty of credit, a big reason has been the form of front two Lukas Jutkiewicz and Che Adams.

The pair have 17 league goals between them at this stage and are difficult for the opposition to deal with because of their pace, power and ability.

And, that form hasn't gone unnoticed, with the Telegraph reporting that Stoke City are lining up a £5m bid for Adams when the window opens.

The 22-year-old is a player that Potters boss Gary Rowett knows well from his time in the West Midlands having signed him for Blues, whilst he also scored the winner when the sides met back in October.

However, we think they would be mad to sell and here we look at THREE reasons why they have to resist interest from their Championship rivals...

In modern football virtually every player has a price, so there's no point saying someone categorically will not be sold.

However, you can say that £5m is an incredibly low valuation of Adams.

Harry Redknapp claimed to have rejected an offer of double that last season and even then Blues would have to think twice.

Adams is improving quickly and in today's market would command a much bigger fee.

As mentioned, the partnership between Jutkiewicz and Adams has been central to Blues' success.

As a pairing they nearly have it all and both are adding goals to their games, which had been the crucial missing ingredient.

If the club want to progress, they have to do all they can to keep their best players, particularly mid-season when they are in with a chance of challenging for the top six.

Even if Blues did receive an acceptable offer, you would have to question whether Monk would be allowed to reinvest.

We all know the FFP issues that the club have had, so does it make sense to sell Adams if you could only spend a fraction of that on his replacement?

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