As the Championship season begins to draw to an end, Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett will have plenty on his mind ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.
The young manager has worked wonders since he has come into the Midlands club but he still has plenty to do.
With very limited funds available due to their owner being in jail for five counts of money laundering, the former Burton Albion manager will have to be very clever in the market if he wants to bring in the best players.
I have identified FIVE potential signings that Rowett could make that would enhance the squad that Birmingham already has.
PRESS NEXT PAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE PLAYERS
Rob Kiernan
The first of the five players that I believe the Blues should sign is a defender that is currently on loan at the club, Rob Kiernan.
Since the defender arrived at St Andrews on loan until the end of the season from second bottom club Wigan Athletic, he has been a solid centre back alongside Jonathan Spector.
Having put in several man of the match performances. Most notably in his first two games at the club where he kept two clean sheets, Kiernan is sure to be one of the main targets for Gary Rowett and his team this summer.
However, Kiernan is still under contract at Wigan and he has said that he will honour that contract should he still be needed at the DW Stadium, but if he is seen as surplus requirements, the centre back has expressed his desire to return to Birmingham City.
Jordi Gomez
Moving on, two more players that I believe Birmingham City should go for are in the midfield department. Despite having solid midfielders in the form of David Davis, Andrew Shinnie and Stephen Gleeson, the second city club have been missing that player who can add goals to their season tally.
For that reason alone, I believe that the Blues should attempt to sign Jordi Gomez from Sunderland.
Barcelona born Jordi Gomez hasn’t played a huge amount of games for the Black Cats this year and for that reason, I believe the club might be able to take the midfielder off their hands for a small fee or even a season long loan.
With Birmingham only having paid a fee for two players over the previous few seasons (David Davis- £500,000 from Wolverhampton Wanderers and £200,000 for Paul Caddis from Swindon Town), it could be a huge signing for them if they managed to pull of what could be a contender for championship deal of the summer.
Robert Tesche
I also believe that it is vital that the club sign Tesche on a permanent deal on the summer as well. Similar to Rob Kiernan, Tesche was brought in as cover for a player that was out through injury/suspension but his performances have been second to none.
Sitting in the holding role alongside David Davis, Tesche produced a string of outstanding performances whilst Stephen Gleeson was out suspended but since his suspension ended, Gleeson has been put straight back into the team which makes me wonder whether Gary Rowett will pursue this deal.
However, I believe that Tesche is a player that Birmingham City need next season if they are to compete in the midfield area on a more regular basis.
Rolando Aarons
Another area that Birmingham needs to consider is on the wings. With the departure of teen sensation Demarai Gray heavily expected in the summer transfer window, a good quality winger is needed to replace the 18-year-old.
Born and raised in Birmingham it will be tough to see the young left winger go but he will follow a long line of youth players that have come through the academy at City that go onto better things. For this reason, I believe that the Blues should attempt an audacious loan more for Rolando Aarons from Newcastle United.
The Jamaican born 19-year-old would be a perfect replacement for Gray and I can see him progressing well at Birmingham.
In two years at Newcastle, the young winger has only played three times, scoring one goal but time on the pitch has been limited for the left sided player. Therefore, I believe that if Birmingham went in with a loan offer for the tricky winger, they might just succeed.
With a new manager due in at Newcastle at the end of the season, this loan move might not come to anything because with a new manager comes new opportunities but there is no harm in trying to sign the player, who chose to become an England international player at under 20 level.
James Wilson
Finally, the last player that I believe Birmingham City should try and sign is James Wilson on loan from Manchester United.
Similar to Rolando Aarons from Newcastle, any efforts to sign Wilson would probably be shut down immediately. However, once again, similar to Aarons, Wilson has found chances at United few and far between this season due to the likes of Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie and Radamel Falcao being a constant in the first team.
Therefore, I believe that Louis Van Gaal might let the young striker go out on loan in order to get some valuable game time which would enhance the strikers ability to more than it already is.
Van Gaal has let young striker Will Keane go out on loan this season to Sheffield Wednesday and for that reason, I believe that Birmingham City might just have a glimmer of hope if they enquired about taking Wilson on loan for the season.