Birmingham Wrap Up Triple Swoop on Deadline Day

The English Premier League transfer window closed today. Birmingham were unequivocally the busiest of the Premier League teams on the final day, completing three transfers in Alexander Hleb, Martin Jiranek, and Jean Beausejour.

Hleb, 29, joined the Blues on a season-long loan from Barcelona. The Belarus international has substantial Premier League experience, making 89 appearances for Arsenal before his transfer to Barca two years ago.

Martin Jiranek is 6'3'', and typically plays center half. The 31-year-old has made 31 appearances for the Czech national team, and joins on a one-year deal from Spartak Moscow.

Jean Beausejor is 26, and signed a three-year deal. The winger was signed from Mexican side Club America for an undisclosed fee, after impressing in Chile's World Cup run to the round of 16.

These three players join Ben Foster, Nikola Zigic, Enric Valles, and Matt Derbyshire as summer signings for the Blues. 

Birmingham has become significantly more active in the transfer market since Carson Yueng's takeover of the club in August 2009. The Hong Kong businessman is making a big statement by signing eight established professionals this summer.

It will be interesting to see how these new signings slot into manager Alex McLeish's plans. Considering their quality, I would expect to see Hleb and Beausejour make the starting 11 at the expense of James McFadden and Sebastian Larsson.

Scott Dann and Roger Johnson have formed a solid partnership in the center of Birmingham's defence since their promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2008-09 season. If the veteran Jiranek does not replace them, he will certainly add depth to the Blues' bench and keep Dann and Johnson on their toes.

Birmingham missed out signing Armand Traore from Arsenal. The youngster instead elected to join Juventus on loan.