Hellas Verona and VfL Wolfsburg have reportedly entered the race to sign Birmingham City centre-back Phil Neumann ahead of the deadline.

Calciomercato, an Italian publication, said on Tuesday morning that Blues’ German defender is already being linked with a move just months after making the long-awaited move to St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park.

Chris Davies, Tom Wagner, and Craig Gardner have already had a very busy winter transfer window in this part of the world, with the ambitious Championship side undergoing a major squad reshuffle in order to gain a desired advantage over several rivals in a congested play-off race between now and the end of the regular second tier season on May 2nd.

Football League World exclusively revealed in the opening days of the window that as many as eight players could exit St. Andrew’s in some form, with that now proving to be the case following the permanent departures of Dion Sanderson, Emil Hansson, Lyndon Dykes, Alfons Sampsted, and Keshi Anderson, while Marc Leonard was loaned out to Scottish Premiership leaders, Hearts, and both Eiran Cashin and Lewis Koumas saw their loan agreements from Brighton and Hove Albion and

Birmingham has made four acquisitions since the window opened on New Year’s Day, including Kai Wagner, Jhon Solis, Ibrahim Osman, and August Priske.

They are also in line for a fifth signing of the window, with the West Midlands club reportedly closing in on the high-profile signing of Deportivo Alaves’ 10-goal winger, Carlos Vicente, for around £7 million, with the Spaniard currently finalising his expected switch to the Second City following lengthy speculation over his future, both in the summer and winter windows.

Neumann was one of 14 players signed by Blues in the previous window, despite the fact that the defender agreed to make his first move to English football 12 months ago after the then-League One club was able to reach a pre-contract agreement with his former employers, Hannover 96, in a rather contentious situation.

Despite already establishing himself as a key member of Davies’ defence alongside club captain Christoph Klarer, it remains to be seen how long the 28-year-old will be with the Blues, as transfer speculation surrounding the Recklinghausen native shows no signs of abating with only one week until the deadline of 7PM on February 2nd.

Hellas Verona and VfL Wolfsburg join Sassuolo in the transfer quest for Birmingham City defender Phil Neumann.

As previously stated, Neumann’s move to St. Andrew’s was made official on July 1st following the expiration of his contract with Hannover, after the Blues courted his signature throughout the summer and winter transfer windows of their eventual record-breaking season in League One last season, during which they accumulated 111 points.

The 6’3″ figure fit right into Davies’ preseason plans, partnering Klarer, who had previously forged a good partnership with both Krystian Bielik and Ben Davies.

After making his EFL debut in an intense 1-1 draw against newly relegated Ipswich Town on August 8th, Neumann went on to start the following four Championship games and the Blues’ unexpected EFL Cup knockout of Port Vale before not appearing again until the 1-0 victory over Preston North End on October 21st.

However, he scored the only goal in the crucial victory at Deepdale and has subsequently appeared frequently alongside Klarer or Jack Robinson over the next two and a half months.

Although the length of the German’s contract in B9 has yet to be revealed, the man who scored his first St. Andrew’s goal on December 29th against Southampton reportedly became interested in Sassuolo earlier in the window, with the Serie A club’s prized asset and centre-back, Tarik Muharemovic, attracting interest from Premier League clubs such as Aston Villa.

While the Bosnian is still on Sassuolo’s books, Calciomercato has confirmed the Italian club’s interest in Neumann, as well as the news that he is on the radar of Hellas Verona and VfL Wolfsburg.

According to the source, Verona is anxious to recruit a center-back within the remaining window and is aware of the aforementioned competition.

Birmingham City cannot afford to accept Phil Neumann’s departure amid a lack of defensive depth.

At the moment, it appears that the Blues would be making a mistake by allowing Neumann to leave, even if they could rapidly find a successor.

Aside from himself, Klarer, and Robinson, Davies’ squad lacks any other genuine senior centre-backs, making it even more important that the club rectify this position with another purchase throughout the remainder of the window.

Although the Blues are currently not in the top level, Neumann’s attention may not be drawn by the aforementioned interest due to the ambition demonstrated by the club’s owners, Knighthead, who want to see the club back to the Premier League for the first time since 2011 as soon as possible.