Birmingham City have today confirmed the signing of central defender Curtis Davies on a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported elsewhere as £3.5 million.
Davies, who has been out of favour at bitter rivals Villa this season, spent over two months on loan at Leicester City before the New Year and has previously made England squads under Fabio Capello.
In Fantasy terms, the move seems to have quashed the potential of David Murphy, priced at 3.9, as a cheap Fantasy Premier League (FPL) defensive option. The left-back won his place in the team after the season-long injury to Scott Dann forced manager Alex McLeish to reshuffle of his backline, with Liam Ridgewell moving from the left to play in the heart with Roger Johnson. It now seems very likely that, with more cover available in the centre, Ridgewell will now return to his full-back role, resigning Murphy to the bench.
Davies himself is by no means a guaranteed starter. Martin Jiranek was handed a rare outing in the 3-1 extra time victory over West Ham in the Carling Cup and duly impressed. The Czech Republic international could therefore be given an extended chance to stake his claim, forcing Davies fight for his place.
Birmingham players are certainly worth keeping an eye on with an interesting run of fixtures on the horizon, including two double Gameweeks (MCY, whm, STK & NEW, N/A, WBA & eve, wig). But with uncertainty over whether Davies will start, Roger Johnson who is priced at 5.1 – just 0.2 more than the new arrival – would be a more reliable choice in defence. Johnson has also picked up 10 Bonus Points this season and found the back of the net on 2 occasions.
Meanwhile, it appears that Alex McLeish still has cash to splash. The Blues are being continually linked with Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins and it has been reported by some sources that he has joined on loan until the end of the season from Rubin Kazan. Martins, who is undoubtedly a talent on his day, would seem likely to be valued at around 6.0 in the FPL game. Whether he would provide stronger scoring potential than Cameron Jerome (5.5) is certainly debatable.
