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 have been linked with Derby County midfielder Jason Knight.
The 21-year-old only has one year left on his deal with the League One club and, according to Football Insider, Blues boss John Eustace is keen to sign him.
But would he be a good signing for Birmingham? And do they need him?
Our FLW writers share their thoughts...
Declan Harte
The 21-year-old has shown a lot of promise with Derby County and was one of the team’s standout players last season.
A move to keep him in the Championship would be the right step for him in his career as he has proven to be a more than capable midfielder at this level.
But Birmingham are currently in a state of flux and may not be the ideal team to move to in order to get that chance to play in the second division.
Given Derby will want to command some kind of fee for the Irishman, Birmingham may not yet be in a position to make this move just yet.
And with other Championship sides likely to make a move, Knight would be better off remaining patient until the end of the summer window in order to seal the best possible move he can.
Ned Holmes
If Jason Knight does leave Derby this summer, it wouldn't surprise me if there were bigger clubs than Birmingham vying for him.
The Rams are not going to sell him cheaply and that might make things difficult for the Championship club but what a signing it would be.
The 21-year-old has bags of talent and huge potential while he has already produced the goods in the second tier at senior level.
He drew links with Premier League clubs in the previous window and that ilk of team may be sniffing around him again this summer.
There is only one year left on his deal, which is good news for the Blues, but it is still hard to see this move happening as good as it would be for them.
Sam Rourke
I'd be shocked if Birmingham pulled this off.
Jason Knight is a serious talent and at the age of just 21, he has shown he is more than capable of cutting it in the Championship and beyond.
He's an energetic, industrious midfielder and it would be a serious coup for the Blues if they could land Knight in the summer transfer window, with him someone who could make an immediate impact whilst being a long-term solution.
I'd imagine there will be a plethora of second tier sides monitoring the Republic of Ireland international's situation at Pride Park, especially with him being courted by several Premier League sides not too long ago.
A lot at Birmingham remains up in the air off the pitch with the takeover situation still yet to be officially resolved, so before that is concluded, I can't see too much movement on this deal just yet.