£8.5m La Liga star has already given Birmingham City real hope of signing him

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Even as the Kwame Poku window appears to be closing on Chris Davies’ fingers, the door remains very much ajar in Birmingham City’s pursuit of alternative winger targets.

EFL Analysis have been informed, via football correspondent Graeme Bailey, that Peterborough United talisman Kwame Poku may be leaning towards Rangers.

Bad news for Darragh MacAnthony, the Peterborough chairman who will lose out on a sizeable windfall due to cross-border transfer legislation. And hardly an ideal development at St Andrews either. Birmingham had been discussing Poku for months. His potential crossing of Hadrian’s Wall puts the Blues in a rare position of missing out on a leading target in the Tom Wagner era.

But while Poku was a priority, Birmingham City had the foresight to avoid putting all their eggs in the same, blue-coloured basket.

Eredivisie ‘assist king’ Oliver Antman is an option for the second-tier returnees. Emil Hansson and Willum Willumsson arrived at St Andrews from Dutch football and NEC Nijmegen speedster Sontje Hansen could take the same path.

EFL Analysis can confirm that Birmingham have an interest in Alaves ace Carlos Vicente too. Perhaps the most ambitious of their winger targets – Nottingham Forest, Besiktas and Olympiakos are in the mix as well, after all – Vicente is also intriguing.

Birmingham City target Alaves winger Carlos Vicente

After spending the first few years of his career bouncing around the lower regions of Spanish football, a late-blooming Carlos Vicente announced himself as a La Liga force during the 2024/25 campaign.

Five goals and five assists from 37 matches may not be numbers which get hairs standing up on end but, for a middling Alaves outfit who survived relegation by one two points, this was a far more impressive return than it initially appears.

Without his contributions – a winner against Real Sociedad, two assists in a 3-1 victory over Real Betis and a final day strike against Osasuna – Alaves may have taken the place of Leganes in the dreaded drop zone.

With his sandy hair and pale complexion, the Zaragoza-born Carlos Vicente does not look like your typical Spaniard. He doesn’t really play like one either.

A direct, dynamic, somewhat old-school right-footed winger who plays on the right-hand flank.

His game is less about cutting in from the wing, as many tend to do these days, but about those trademark shuttling runs down the touchline and into the corners of the penalty area.

Vicente admits he would like to play in England

Speaking to The Athletic in April, meanwhile, Carlos Vicente described himself as a footballer tailor-made for the rigours of English football. Specifically, the Premier League. But with the aforementioned Wagner determined to bring top-flight football back to St Andrews by 2026, perhaps this is a journey both Vicente and Birmingham City could take together.

“I’m a physical player with stamina,” Vicente explained. “I have the ability to generate things with a dribble but I’m disciplined for my team, too. I’ve always been a winger and I’ve played as an attacker. But thanks to my physical ability, I can hold up well in a wide position.

“I think I can adapt as a full-back, too. The style of play I have now is not the one I had when I was younger, when I looked at Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

“I watch Premier League games and I’m a profile that is seen and liked there. It tends to be a much more physical competition than here [in Spain]. It is clear that the Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world.

“It’s very attractive.”

Vicente impressed up against Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior

Deportivo Alaves reportedly value Carlos Vicente at around £8.5 million.

Birmingham’s record signing remains Jay Stansfield – their League One-winning top scorer – but such a fee would see Vicente knock Emile Heskey down to third place on the all-time podium.

“Carlos Vicente is the man that embodies this Alaves,” Football Espana wrote in their end-of-season review, highlighting the winger’s attacking qualities but also the kind of fierce work ethic from which cult heroes are born in English football.

“Much of their attack runs through him, and he runs through brick walls for their attack and defence. Memorably against Real Madrid, he was seen often at right-back defending Vinicius Junior before bombing back up the other end to take the fight to Fran Garcia.

“Beyond the running though, he provides danger with a strong shot, a delivery that defenders dread and strong old-fashioned wing-play.”