Birmingham City can’t meet Aston Villa demands as their pursuit of Scott Hogan’s permanent signature continues to bring them frustration.  

Hogan was excellent on loan at St Andrew’s during the second-half of the Championship season, scoring seven goals in 17 appearances.

Naturally, there’s a desire to add Hogan back to the Blues squad ahead of 2020/21, even though Aitor Karanka is now in-charge of the Second City club.

Quiz: Can you remember the score from each of these 12 Birmingham City matches from the 2019/20 season?

 

However, as per the Mirror’s Transfer Blog (10/08, 13:40), Birmingham are struggling to meet Villa’s demands for the 28-year-old, which has opened the door for AFC Bournemouth to swoop to try sign the striker ahead of their own Championship return.

Villa are, of course, planning for a second season back in the Premier League after Dean Smith oversaw a remarkable escape from the relegation zone in the closing weeks of the season.

Hogan has been on the books at Villa since the winter of 2017, but 61 appearances across all competitions have brought only 10 goals and loans at Sheffield United, Stoke City and Birmingham have all come around in the last two seasons.

The Verdict  

There’s no denying that Hogan was brilliant for Birmingham, but his form there has given Villa added hope of getting a decent fee for the striker this summer.

Ultimately, it appears that has priced Birmingham out of a move and when clubs like Bournemouth are coming in still pretty flush from their spell in the Premier League, they are going to struggle to compete.

It’s a blow for Karanka, who does need to replace the goals Hogan scored on loan.

Thoughts? Let us know!