Making moves

For Jordi Lopez, read Oubina?

Possibly. By the accounts of people who have seen him play, the Spaniard is more of a technician than a scuffling scrapper.

One person I spoke to said he's more of a Mikel Arteta, another a type of Pedro Mendes figure.

Lopez has been kicking his heels of late, trying to find a club after losing his way at Real Mallorca.

In the the couple of weeks he has been with Blues - he played in the Sheffield United friendly, not the Cheltenham Town game, as earlier thought - there have been plenty of
nods of approval.

Steve Bruce signed Oubina as that kind of move-it-on passer, comfortable in possession, to bring a little more craft to the midfield. Then he snapped his knee ligaments on his
first start at Liverpool.

So we never did know whether he would have made a difference and become the modern-day Mark Ward general.

Alex McLeish has constantly stated that he only wants to sign players he believes would improve Blues or 'enhance the team'.

He added the rider that if someone else came along, and showed up well, then he wouldn't rule them out either. Like Lopez, whose short term contract - with a view to a three-year deal - is subject to a successful medical.

People expecting £5 million players and the like in January are going to be disappointed.

The big funds for McLeish should be available in the summer, and that's when he's likely to do his major business, and bring in some marquee players - assuming Blues secure
promotion.

At present, he is acting very pragmatically, trying to fashion a team and squad that will get Blues out of the Championship, then take stock and go on from there.

He called it short-termism in the video feature he did with me to mark his first anniversary in charge. But there are also long-term goals.

"I want to change the style, but it doesn't happen overnight," he remarked to me this week.

McLeish, without question, wants someone in the middle of the park who can unlock a defence, who can receive the ball and move the team forward, with the ball or by passing it.

Levan Tskitishvili was another short-term target he tried for a year ago, only to be thwarted by work permit issues. He's a similar type to Lopez. Sean Davis and Teemu Tainio came into the equation late on when money earmarked for Gary Cahill could be shifted elsewhere.

McLeish was offered other players but, not being 100 per cent sure they were right, ended up going what what he had left.

Keith Fahey (who didn't play against Cheltenham either) has been added to the mix, an exciting, ball-playing midfielder described to me as 'easily the best player in Ireland'
the other day by a respected scout.

Whether he is able to make an impact remains to be seen. McLeish is taking a bit of a punt on him, for £300,000, in truth, supplementing his other business and plans.

There have been plenty of trialists who have passed through the Wast Hills gates in recent weeks, and two more who played in the Cheltenham game will be named in tomorrow's Birmingham Mail. And no, Robbie Fowler (!) wasn't anywhere to be seen, nor was Seamus Coleman.

Robin Shroot, of Harrow Borough, impressed in that match and - dare one say it - he's more one for the future, should Blues proceed with his signature.