Bruce hoping for cash boost
Steve Bruce is hoping Carson Yeung’s proposed takeover of Birmingham will provide him with the major funding that other foreign investors have pumped into Barclays Premier League clubs.
Bruce has only spent a net £7m this summer, bringing in a dozen new players in a revamp of his squad.
He has had to wheel and deal and, in some quarters, has been nicknamed the “Geordie Del Boy” after David Jason’s character in Only Fools and Horses.
But Bruce is keeping his fingers crossed that Yeung, who expects to take full control of City in the next couple of months, will follow the example of the likes of Manchester City and West Ham in bankrolling moves in the transfer market.
Bruce told PA Sport: “It’s been difficult so you have to wheel and deal and do a bit. I’ve been delighted with what we’ve done.
“Johan Djourou, for instance, where could we buy him? To get him on loan from Arsenal is a real bonus for us.
“To be fair to the club owners, when they have to go into their pockets, they do so. They give everything the club generates towards my budget.
“When the new guy (Yeung) comes in, I look at all the other investors that have come into the Premier League, at Portsmouth, Manchester City, West Ham, everywhere you look, and what they have spent.
“We obviously hope that is going to be the case here as well. It will be a fantastic scenario if that happens.”
Bruce has high hopes of his final transfer window capture in Celta Vigo midfielder Borja Oubina, who has joined on a season long loan.
The City chief said: “He has got a couple of caps for Spain. It was one of those where it looked earlier last week he was going to Benfica.
“It didn’t quite happen so we jumped on the back of it. We were disappointed with what happened with Peter Luccin in missing out when it looked as if it was a done deal.
“That left us with little time but Borja is a quality player who will be a good asset for us.”
Bruce is weighing up whether to try and make permanent his interest in striker Mohammed Kallon who is a free agent after being released by Monaco.
He is undergoing a trial at St Andrews and played in a behind closed doors friendly with Kidderminster on Wednesday.
Bruce said: “Monaco have paid him up so we don’t have to be rushed into anything. He is with us at present and we will have a good look at him and see how it goes.
“He had been at Monaco for three years. I remember seeing him play against Ipswich for Inter Milan years ago and you remember good players.
“He is something a little bit different to what we’ve got to offer up front.”
