Blues close to wrapping up Michel deal

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish expects Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel to become a Blues player in the next 48 hours.

The 23-year-old playmaker and his representative were at St. Andrews on Saturday evening to watch Birmingham's 1-1 draw with Manchester United. City have agreed personal terms and a fee believed to be in the region of £3million for the player, and the deal will go through early next week subject to him passing a medical.

McLeish said: "It's looking good in terms of signing Michel. Everything has been agreed, personal terms and a fee, subject to him passing a medical. All being well, he should become our player on Monday or Tuesday which I will be pleased about as I've been tracking him for over a year. He will add some more quality to our squad."

McLeish was on the verge of signing Michel during the summer only for the deal to fall through at the 11th hour.

However, it appears his hopes of signing Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones are fading.

Sunderland are asking for at least £11million for Jones and the player is understood to be wanting around £70,000 a week to make the move to Birmingham.

McLeish is an admirer of the player but it is believed he will not pay excessively to land his services.