Birmingham City have endured a dismal few years, with the club once again in serious danger of dropping into League One.

Lee Bowyer's appointment has at least given Blues a fresh voice in their battle to survive, and the former player has enjoyed a positive start, collecting three points from his first two games.

If Blues do drop down to the third tier, few will put any blame on the new boss. Instead, questions will be asked of the hierarchy at St. Andrew's, as years of mis-management has left them in this position.

Their record in the transfer market has been particularly poor, with several signings just not making the impact that was expected.

Is that a theme for Blues though? Here we look at their top ten most expensive signings and see what those individuals are up to now...

Having starred as Blues won promotion under Steve Bruce to the Premier League, it made sense for the club to sign Muamba on a permanent basis for the top-flight in a £4m deal.

The former Arsenal man would leave 12 months later though as the side were relegated, securing a move to Bolton.

As many will remember, Muamba's career was cut short when he suffered a cardiac arrest when playing for the Trotters at Tottenham in 2012. Thankfully, the sharp work of medics saved his life, with Muamba now coaching and involved in the media.

Another £4m capture, McSheffrey was a high-profile signing in 2006 as Birmingham looked to win promotion, and he helped the team do just that, scoring 13 goals as they went up.

It didn't really go to plan for the wide man after that though, as he struggled to shine in the Premier League or back in the second tier when Blues went down.

McSheffrey's would return to Coventry after a few loan spells, before featuring at other lower league clubs such as Scunthorpe and Doncaster among others before retiring in 2018 after finishing up at Eastleigh.

An England international, Heskey's arrival was a big deal at the time, and whilst he only cost an initial £3.5m, he could have ended up costing Blues £6.25m but all those clauses weren't hit.

Nevertheless, he was a significant outlay for the team at the time and he had a fine first season, scoring ten times in the league. A tougher second year followed though, with Heskey managing just four as Blues were relegated.

The target man would play for Wigan, Aston Villa, Newcastle Jets and Bolton, as well as continuing to represent England, before retiring in 2016, and he has been a TV pundit on occasions since retiring.

The keeper's signing from Manchester United was an undisclosed fee, but it's believed to have been around £4m initially which could've risen to £6m.

Unfortunately for Blues, they didn't reach the add-ons as the stopper was around for just one season. Of course, it was the memorable campaign that saw Birmingham win the League Cup but they were also relegated, despite Foster's best efforts.

A move to West Brom would follow and the 37-year-old is still playing now, as he looks to win promotion with Watford, although he is currently on the bench. His role in the cup win means he is still fondly remembered at St. Andrew's.

Alex McLeish splashed out an initial £4.75m to bring McFadden to the club in January 2008 as Birmingham battled to stay in the Premier League.

Despite a positive contribution from the Scotland international, four goals in 12 games, he couldn't keep the team up, but he stuck around as they bounced back immediately. However, his time with Blues would be marred by a serious knee injury and he was eventually released.

McFadden would have several moves after that without really settling aside from one season with first club Motherwell. Since then, he has gone into coaching, which included working with the Scottish national team, and he is also a pundit covering the Scottish Premiership on Sky.

Having shone for years in the Championship with Cardiff, Birmingham were convinced to pay £5m for Johnson and it looked a smart decision.

The centre-back starred as McLeish's side finished 9th in the Premier League, whilst he was influential in the side that won the cup at Wembley in 2011. Given his performances, and Blues' relegation, a move unsurprisingly followed, although he didn't do well at Wolves.

Spells in India and with non-league Bromley came after his tough spell at Molineux, with Johnson retiring in 2019. He is still involved in football now though, as he manages the Bromley U23 side.

A £5.5m capture from Blackburn, there was a lot of excitement when Blues completed a deal for the creative midfielder, who had won a cap for England.

Event though Dunn showed flashes of his clear talent, injuries hindered his progress at St. Andrew's, and he returned to Rovers after four years in the second city. He would go on to make over 200 appearances for the club and a brief spell at Oldham before his retirement.

Dunn has stayed in the game after retirement, turning to management. He had a short period in charge of the Latics, and a caretaker stint with Blackpool. Most recently, the 41-year-old was in charge of League Two Barrow, but he was dismissed in Decemeber.

The big striker signed for around £6m from Valencia in 2010 and there were real high hopes for the Serbia international.

Whilst he didn't go on to be a prolific goalscorer, Zigic is a cult hero at St. Andrew's and he will always be remembered for scoring the first goal in the cup win against Arsenal.

He scored crucial goals to help the team to Wembley and also at Bolton when the team needed a win to stay in the Championship. He retired in 2015 after his Blues contract was up, and he has kept a low-profile since.

The current owners have spent big in the past, and they broke the club-record to sign Jota from Brentford in 2017 for around £6m.

Given his pedigree in the Championship, this was considered a real statement signing for Blues but the Spaniard just couldn't replicate his form at St. Andrew's. To the surprise of many, Jota would cross the second city divide to join Aston Villa but he didn't last long at Blues' rivals.

Now, the wide man has signed for Alaves, as they battle to stay in La Liga, although he doesn't always make the XI.

Blues would break the club-record fee just two years later to bring in Sunjic, in a deal that was worth in excess of £6.3m.

There was a lot of hype around the midfielder after he had impressed for the Croatian U21 side, but he hasn't really impressed since arriving in England from Dinamo Zagreb.

Sunjic remains at the club now, and he will hope to become a key player for Bowyer, but he needs to start improving quickly if he is to justify the hefty fee that the Championship outfit paid for him.