Matt Derbyshire Signing Positive Step

Birmingham City have today confirmed the signing of former Blackburn Rovers striker Matt Derbyshire on a season long loan from Olympiakos.

It has been a summer full of peaks and troughs for Alex Mcleish in the transfer markets. Having started with a bang signing goalkeeper Ben Foster and striker Nikola Zigic for £6 million a piece at the start of the window.

Since then it has been continued disappointment for the Blues as he has seen a host of targets come and go. Having come close to signing Moussa Dembele, Fabrizio Miccoli and Mauro Camaronesi in recent weeks, Blues have failed to sign any of their targets and despite continued interest in Charles N'Zogbia, Wigan are holding firm

As a result, it was nice to see how swiftly the Derbyshire deal was dealt with, seemingly going from rumour to signature in a matter of days. Now the next question is, will Derbyshire fit the bill?

The former England under-21 International had a frustrating time in Blackburn, struggling to get a continued run in the side despite showing real pedigree in the Premier League.

18 months ago he was shipped out to Olympiakos in the Greek league where he has excelled despite an extended injury layoff last season.

On paper it seems like an excellent acquisition for Birmingham City, as Derbyshire is a proven finisher and will provide competition for Cameron Jerome and Garry O'Connor to act as poacher alongside big man Nikola Zigic.

Derbyshire is hoping to prove himself and turn the loan move into a permanent transfer next summer and I believe he will be an excellent signing.

He is exactly what Blues needed, even more so now that Kevin Phillips has been ruled out for an extended period of the season.

The signing will hopefully relax the nerves of Birmingham fans who have been disappointed with the lack of activity this summer, and if Big Eck is able to push through a deal for the unsettled N'Zogbia then the squad will be looking just about ready to build on last seasons heroics.

Even so, it seems that Blues still need to bring in a few more new faces before the window closes at the end of the month.