According to the Sun's Alan Nixon, Birmingham City do have interest in a permanent deal for Aston Villa forward Scott Hogan, but the deal is set to be a fairly expensive one if they want to complete it.

Hogan has enjoyed a productive loan spell across the Second City on loan from Aston Villa, and could well be open to staying at St. Andrew's given his return to form.

Indeed, we know he can be a menace at this level from his time at Brentford and having him on a permanent basis appears to be interesting the Blues at the moment as well.

In interaction with a fan on Twitter, though, Nixon has revealed that, despite the interest, the sticking point could well be the price of the deal to get it to happen.

He said:

The Verdict

Blues are strapped for cash and with the current situation, it is likely that the summer window - whenever it opens - will see a reduction in spending.

If Villa do sell Hogan they're bound to want to recoup as much as they can of what they spent on him, too, so it remains to be seen if a deal can be thrashed out financially when the time comes.