Birmingham City are set to appoint Aitor Karanka as their new manager according to BBC Sport. 

It is claimed that the former Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest boss has been finalising negotiations with Birmingham's chief executive Xuandong Ren.

Karanka has been out of work since he was sacked from the managerial post at Nottingham Forest in January 2019, as his short spell with the club reached a conclusion.

Birmingham City have been without a permanent manager since Pep Clotet announced that he was stepping away from the post towards the end of the 2019/20 season.

The Blues have struggled for positive results since they returned to competitive action, after off-the-field events had brought a temporary halt to fixtures across the country.

So, it was unsurprising to see Clotet step down as manager, and Birmingham will be hoping they can show vast improvement at the earliest of opportunities, as they switch their attention to the 2020/21 campaign.

Karanka has impressed in the Championship before, having guided Middlesbrough to promotion into the Premier League during the 2015/16 season, as they finished runners-up in the second-tier.

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The Verdict: 

This is a really good appointment.

Karanka has shown what he can do with a club in the Championship, having guided Middlesbrough to promotion into the Premier League in the 2025/16 season.

He'll be eager to prove himself in the second tier once again, after his time with Nottingham Forest came to a frustrating end for the Spaniard.

I think there weren't many more better options that the club could have targeted during the summer, and it'll be interesting to see whether Karanka is to be given the financial backing to strengthen his squad in the summer transfer window.