This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Birmingham City are interested in free agent winger Sammy Ameobi but face competition from Championship rivals Middlesbrough for his services, according to Football Insider.

The 29-year-old was released by Nottingham Forest this summer after two years at the Tricky Trees, having made 77 league appearances for the club in that time period.

Wide options are clearly on the agenda for both the Blues and Boro, who are lacking in numbers in that area of the pitch and both Lee Bowyer and Neil Warnock have identified Ameobi as a potential option.

Would Ameobi be a good fit for Birmingham though? The FLW team have given their say on the matter.

George Harbey

This strikes me as potentially a great bit of business for Blues.

Lee Bowyer has wasted no time in bolstering his squad, and the signings of Jordan Graham, Chuks Aneke and Ryan Woods are all shrewd ones on free transfers.

The signing of Ameobi would be another bargain, in my opinion. He was such an underrated player for Forest in his two years at the City Ground, and was particularly influential in 2019/20.

He isn’t the fastest or most technical of players, but his size and strength makes him a really effective winger who can breeze past his marker with real ease.

His deliveries are often impressive too and he is capable of producing brilliance when you least expect it, and I think he’s a steady performer at this level. He fits the bill financially and would be another positive addition for Blues.

 

 

 

 

Jacob Potter

This would be an excellent bit of business by the Blues.

Strength in depth in wide areas of their team is certainly needed, and Ameobi would be somewhat of a risk-free signing for Lee Bowyer's side.

He has experience of playing in the Championship recently, having played for Nottingham Forest last season.

But he found regular minutes hard to come by with the Reds, and it didn't come as much of a surprise to see him depart the club this summer.

Their loss could be Birmingham City's gain though, and on a free transfer, this could turn out to be a shrewd move by Lee Bowyer's side if they can get an agreement in place.

I like the sound of this deal, and it's a move that makes complete sense for all parties involved if the Blues can offer him regular game time.

George Dagless

I think it's worth a punt.

I think Birmingham perhaps need to add a player like Ameobi that is direct with the ball when he's on it and a good runner out wide.

He's perhaps not the most consistent player in the world but I certainly think he's good enough to have an impact for the Blues next season and under Lee Bowyer he could become a real force potentially.

The Birmingham boss is very good at motivating players and if they can strike a decent chord with one another then Ameobi could be one of those players that has a really decent year next season.

On a free, it's absolutely worth a go and would be another smart bit of Blues business this summer I would say.