Birmingham City have ended their interest in Sporting Gijon attacking midfielder Cesar Gelabert, according to BirminghamLive. The 25-year-old was linked with a move to Blues by Spanish newspaper Marca after a season in Spain's second tier that yielded eight goals and four assists. BirminghamLive understands Gelabert was part of a wide-ranging search for a number 10 early in the summer, but the interest has not developed into a formal pursuit.
Transfer priorities and Osman's delayed decision
Blues remain in the market for at least two new signings, with a number 10 and a left-winger identified as priority positions for manager Chris Davies. The club had shown interest in Championship-proven Joe Gelhardt before he completed a return to Hull City for £6.5 million.
Meanwhile, a decision on Ibrahim Osman's future has been delayed after Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler took a shine to the winger during pre-season. Blues want to re-sign Osman following his successful loan last season, but Davies recently suggested a return is now 'less likely' based on feedback from the Brighton end. Osman has been a fixture in Brighton's pre-season preparation and played 30 minutes in their 1-0 win over Bologna at the weekend.
Brighton begin their season with a Europa Conference League play-off against Tromso on Thursday evening, and Osman could be involved. Hurzeler said: "Let's wait how this continues and then we make the best decision for him and for the club. But overall, I'm really happy and impressed by him as well." If Osman is allowed to leave Brighton this summer, it is likely to be near the end of the window. While Blues haven't signed a direct alternative, there remains a glimmer of hope.
Klarer: Fatherhood has changed me
Blues captain Christoph Klarer has revealed that the birth of his daughter has taught him to embrace his softer side off the pitch. Klarer and his wife Lara welcomed their first child earlier this year. As a result, the 26-year-old has learnt to park football at the front door, irrespective of Blues' result on any given weekend.
"With my daughter now, it puts things into perspective," he said. "It's the best thing that's happened to me and certainly brings out a side to me that's gone under the radar a little bit. It's the best thing ever. It calms you down and stops your head spinning after games. You can't just think about football all the time, you need to put your full focus and effort in at home, so that's something that's been really special for me and my wife."
Stansfield and Vicente try Powerchair football
Birmingham City stars Carlos Vicente and Jay Stansfield have helped launch the Foundation's Powerchair football programme. The pair attended an event at the University of Birmingham where they promoted the initiative and had a go themselves. Blues' stars also helped set up the programme by donating a percentage of their win bonuses to help finance the chairs.
Vicente joined former Blues favourites Darren Carter and Clinton Morrison as players gave the chairs a trial run. He said: "It's been really fun, I had a really good time with them, it's always good to be part of the community. For us, the players, the whole club, it is really important to be involved in the city and help every way we can. It was funny, the first ten minutes it was like 'maybe this is dangerous'! But after 10-15 minutes the confidence went up and I was just going as fast as I can."
Stansfield added: "I think it's really good to come down here and see the lads and give it a go, we didn't expect be able to go in the chair and have a go, but it's been a brilliant experience for us and we're really proud to be able to help these guys. There's smiles on people's faces at the end of the day, the lads have been brilliant, they're really good players, it's been a privilege to learn some skills and show us how it's done."
