Dann's the man?

Scott Dann is the first but won't be the last defender to join Blues this summer.

Alex McLeish has been trying to bolster the centre-half position ever since he took over at Blues.

Gary Cahill got away, which left Eck and Blues cold. It was genuinely felt he was in the bag until a late chance of mind saw him leave Villa for Bolton Wanderers.

There have been a couple of attempts to take Sami Hyypia, who ended up signing a whopping contract at Bayer Leverkusen after exiting Liverpool on a free.

Then there were the cases of Calum Davenport and Matt Mills. And there have been plenty of others looked at and either dismissed or considered out of reach.

There's no messing about by Blues now.

Blues saw off Wolves for Dann, the Sky Blues captain.

Geovanny Espinoza is also on his way to St Andrew's. And don't rule out Roger Johnson arriving either. I suspect it's either him or Oguchi Onyewu.

At left-back, Blues have David Murphy on the injured list and Franck Queudrue. But expect to see another specialist for that position join, and talks are continuing with Djimi Traore, who can provide cover at full-back or in the centre.

Dann's signing, for an initial £3.5 million, is an interesting one.

His rise from Walsall junior to Premier League has been swift and if you counsel opinion of people in the game about him, you get conflicting views.

Highly promising, the potential to improve, a sound investment. On the other hand, I've heard from those who don't think he will cut it at the highest level.

Never mind whether he's worth the fee or not. Same applies with Johnson. Nowadays it's impossible to get a Matthew Upson for £750,000.

Dann's price is the going rate and although McLeish would love to be able to spend £10 million each on a proven Premier League pairing, he can't.

McLeish said just after the season ended he might have to bring in an emerging player or two and work with them; that's what he's done with Dann and, to an extent,
could do with Johnson as well, another who has yet to make the jump from Championship to Premier League.

What Blues like about Dann is that he has the basic attributes to do a sound job and get better. Also, his on-pitch attitude is that of a leader, a strong Liam Daish type.

He is quiet and unassuming off it, but once across the white line he's vocal and wants to dominate his domain.

A few people who have watched him regular told me that he is a good header of the ball, has very good feet and can pick out a pass. Dann, although 6ft 2in tall, is not a clogging type of centre-half.

He is a threat at set-pieces - as Blues found out when he plundered the only goal of the game at the Ricoh Arena in February - and check out this goal for Walsall against
Rochdale, which suggests he's not lumbering on the deck.

Dann had a hard time of it against Chelsea and Didier Drogba when Coventry were knocked out of the FA Cup in the quarter-finals. He was muscled off the ball for the first goal.

And like any player new in the Premier League, he is going to have to learn fast.

Whilst he can get stuck in and mix it, despite what happened when Drogba mugged him, his sharpness and reading of the game is more of an asset. He's not lightning quick, but neither he is a slouch.

The England under-21 international is sure to show rough edges in the sort of company he will be battling against next season.

But you would think that someone with McLeish's pedigree in the position should be able to nurture a promising centre-half, and Dann's determination to succeed given the opportunity presented to him should count for something too.