As December rolled around during the 2016/17 season, things were looking very good for Birmingham City.

Under Gary Rowett they had risen into the Championship play-offs and looked very well set to challenge for a surprise top-six finish.

But then, rather inexplicably, the club parted ways with Rowett, leaving their fans and the wider football world flabbergasted.

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The man to replace him would be former Chelsea attacker and Watford manager Gianfranco Zola, but he did not get off to a good start, winning none of the remaining three matches in 2016.

He had to get the January transfer window right, and one of his earliest signings went down very well.

This is FLW Rewind where we take a look back at a big decision made by a club, analyse the initial reaction and document what happened next.

The man in question this time is Emlio Nsue, who signed from Middlesbrough for just over £1million.

The Equatoguinean right-back made 80 appearances during his time with the North East club, becoming a fan favourite in that time.

So, things were looking good for the Blues, and the St. Andrew’s faithful were very happy with their latest arrival:

Sadly, things were not to work out as well as they had at Boro.

Despite being a regular starter under both Zola and then Harry Redknapp, Nsue never looked comfortable, becoming a key member of a squad that was nearly relegated from the second-tier.

He remained for a second season, but clearly had not improved and was shipped out to Apoel Nicosia in the January window.