Birmingham to launch £6.5m raid for Boro winger Johnson
Published 23:00 16/01/10 By Ralph Ellis
Alex McLeish is ready to make Middlesbrough’s talented England Under-21 winger Adam Johnson his next major recruit.
Birmingham’s manager is poised with a £6.5million offer for the 22-year-old after failing to persuade Ryan Babel to leave Liverpool.
Boro wanted home-grown star Johnson to fill the gap left by Stuart Downing last summer, but have realised they must cash in on one of their major assets.
And they’ve told clubs they’ll listen to offers now provided they get cash in time for new boss Gordon Strachan to bring in three or four recruits to put their promotion campaign back on course.
McLeish began his January window shopping in midweek with a £3m deal for Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel. He is also after Wigan’s Hugo Rodallega and Charles N’Zogbia.
