Birmingham City hope to sign Nigerian striker Simy Nwankwo before transfer window closes

ENGLISH Championship side Birmingham City are planning to sign Super Eagles targetman Simeon Tochukwu Nwankwo from Serie A club Salernitana before the close of the summer transfer window at the end of August.

With the second tier of English football now into its fifth week, Birmingham boss John Eustace is looking his boost  his forward line and the Nigerian striker known as Simy, is seen as ideal. Standing at six feet six inches, Simy, who can hold the ball up well and play with his back to goal, has scored 66 goals in all competitions over his playing career so far.

Simy is the only African footballer, apart from Samuel Eto’o to have scored 20 goals in one Serie A season, doing so in 2020/21. However, Simy, 30, who moved to newly-promoted Serie A club Salernitana on a season-long loan in August 2021 is looking for regular first team action as he comes to the end of his career.

Since signing for Salernitana on a permanent basis for  €3.50m in January of this year Simy was subsequently loaned out to Serie B club Parma for the remainder of the season with an option to buy. In June 2018, he was named in Nigeria’s final 23-man squad for the World Cup, making his first appearance against Croatia and playing as a substitute in the 1–2 loss to Argentina in the third group game.

With Lukas Jutkiewicz’s playing days coming to an end, Simy would be an ideal replacement as a targetman at Birmingham City. At the club, the big-man/little-man combination of Hogan and Juke upfront worked wonders a few years ago.