Vitor Pereira had one major Tommy Doyle complaint, but it won’t be a problem for Birmingham City

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Birmingham City are closing in on the signing of Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle, beating Championship and Premier League clubs to his signature.

EFL Analysis revealed earlier this week that Birmingham have won the race for Doyle, who is set to join Chris Davies’ squad on loan with an option to make it permanent.

This comes after news of Birmingham agreeing a transfer for winger Demarai Gray, as the Blues keep on setting a relentless standard in the summer transfer window.

While Gray promises to add flashes of brilliance on the wing, Doyle is a top-quality ball-playing midfielder, fitting perfectly into Davies’ possession-oriented system.

The 23-year-old arrives at St Andrews after struggling for regular football under Vitor Pereira at Wolves, only starting one of their final 19 Premier League matches last term.

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Vitor Pereira complained about Tommy Doyle’s lack of physicality

Birmingham are building an outrageously good squad for the Championship, as the pending addition of Doyle will see him compete with Tomoki Iwata, Paik Seung-Ho and Marc Leonard in midfield.

Wolves only captured Doyle for just £4.3 million from Manchester City last summer, and former manager Gary O’Neil rated him highly.

The Englishman flourished as a deep-lying playmaker in the top flight, picking up the ball from deep and using his exceptional vision to find line-splitting passes.

Pereira never questioned Doyle’s ability on the ball, but he did suggest that he wasn’t physical enough to compete in his team.

Speaking in April, the Portuguese manager said: “Technically speaking, he’s a very good player, but in my opinion, he’s missing the physicality to face this league.

“To run 50 metres, to come back 50 metres and then go 50 metres again. We are not a team to have 80 per cent of possession, so he has problems.

“If we are a team that has the ball every time, doesn’t allow counter-attacks and keeps the ball to dominate the opponent, this is the team for him.

“But we need to understand that we face top teams, top players. We need to run a lot and he’s missing this physicality, especially when we play with two midfielders.”

Pereira felt Doyle was better utilised as a number 10 where his physical attributes weren’t needed as much, but while his smaller frame has its drawbacks, it won’t be an issue for Birmingham.

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Doyle slots perfectly into Chris Davies’ midfield

Birmingham are a possession-based team, patiently waiting for openings to emerge instead of forcing the ball up the pitch.

The Blues averaged the most possession in League One (66%), telling of their dominance, and they should rank high for that metric in the second tier.

As Birmingham dominate the ball, there is less of an emphasis on needing physicality in midfield, which explains why they’ve invested in someone excellent at retaining possession.

Having averaged an 85% pass completion rate in the Premier League last season, Doyle can help form arguably the most formidable midfield partnerships in the division.