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…

Cardiff City have emerged as an interested party in Birmingham City defender Harlee Dean, as reported by Birmingham Live.

The Bluebirds are set to rival QPR for the 30-year-old's transfer, with West London Sport confirming the interest from the R's.

Dean, who started the season as an integral part of the Birmingham defence, has played just 270 minutes of Championship football over the last 13 matches.

 

 

Teden Mengi has now arrived at St Andrew's, and with Tim Spiers of The Athletic confirming that there is still a chance of Dion Sanderson returning to the club this month, it remains to be seen if Dean has a future with the Midlands outfit.

Three of our writers here at FLW have shared their thoughts regarding this potential deal...

Ben Wignall

Dean has been a solid defender at Championship level for a number of years now, and with over a year remaining on his contract at St. Andrew's it's a surprise to see him seemingly being forced out of the door.

However he's probably not performing to the same levels like he was at Brentford, where in the main he was contributing to play-off chases.

At Birmingham though it has been seasons of struggle but Dean has been one of the leaders to get them at least safe in the Championship for each of the last four seasons.

Do Cardiff need another experienced head at the back though? Looking at their options they have Aden Flint, Sean Morrison, Curtis Nelson and young Mark McGuinness at their disposal - where does Dean fit in there?

Of course with Steve Morison using three centre-backs some more depth could be necessary but Dean isn't walking into that Bluebirds line-up as a guaranteed starter and he could probably find a club in the Championship elsewhere that could guarantee him first-team football.

Charlie Gregory 

Dean could be a solid signing for Cardiff in my opinion, especially during their current situation.

There isn’t a lot of resale value considering his age but you get what you buy with the defender. He is hard-working and well capable of doing a job at this level, having played in over 180 games for Birmingham and over 200 for Brentford before that.

Cardiff are currently in the middle of a relegation battle and while their new boss has turned their fortunes around somewhat, they are still ominously close to the drop zone. They need to try and push away in the second half of the campaign and adding an experienced head like Dean, a player that is a leader and well capable of leading by example, could be hugely beneficial.

He also may come on the cheap to boot. The deal overall then represents a good bit of business for the Bluebirds and while he is still a mainstay in the team - featuring 15 times for the Blues so far - they could cope without him if needed.

George Dagless

I think it could be a solid signing for Cardiff.

He's not going to be breaking the bank for the Bluebirds but he is going to be a player that can come in straight away and do exactly what is expected of him, whilst also knowing the Championship inside out.

It could also be interesting to see Cardiff take him away from Birmingham given both are near the wrong end of the table and Dean moving between the two provides an extra dynamic to the fight for survival.

Cardiff have some good, experienced centre-halves already at the club but perhaps another of similar ilk would not go amiss as they try and scramble away from the dropzone as soon as possible.