£2m Birmingham City deal with Brentford had controversy but it was a strong signing: View

£2m Birmingham City deal with Brentford had controversy but it was a strong signing: View

In recent years, Birmingham City has had a number of players leave the club. Unfortunately,

many of them have been unsuccessful, resulting in the Blues spending some time at the bottom

of the Championship before being relegated.

However, despite the vast number of players that have underwhelmed and disappointed,

several bright arrivals have proven to be successful at Birmingham City.

Harlee Dean may be considered as a successful signing for Birmingham since,

despite some controversy, he proved to be a valuable servant.

Indeed, the £2 million sum paid by the Blues under former manager Harry Redknapp was a fantastic value for the club.

Redknapp had recently helped Birmingham City stay in the Championship during the

2016/17 season and was awarded the job for the following season.

The former Portsmouth manager was eager to put together a good team in Birmingham

to avoid a recurrence of the previous season.

In the summer of 2017, the Blues struggled to keep Ryan Shotton, who was desired by

Middlesbrough, and the only way the club would let him go was if they found a replacement.

Their search led them to Dean, who was in the final year of his contract with Brentford

and had failed to agree on fresh terms.

Birmingham were successful in their pursuit of Dean, and the Blues reportedly agreed

to fee worth around £2 million to take the centre-back out of West London. Dean was

their 10th signing that summer, and while there were difficult moments at times, it turned

out to be a very successful purchase.

Dean’s loan move from Southampton to Brentford was the first step in the player’s career

when he really came to light.

The defender went on to play over 200 games for the Bees, helping the club reach the

Championship and coming ever so close to the Premier League.

However, in 2017, it appeared that he was looking for a fresh start, which led to his move to Birmingham City.

Dean joined the Blues as a well-known Championship defender, having previously played for Brentford,

with the expectation that he would help improve Birmingham’s defence.

Dean did improve Birmingham City, but he couldn’t do it alone. The defender completed four full seasons

with the Midlands club, as well as half of the 2021/22 season, before joining Sheffield Wednesday.

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