Yahoo News Alfie May transfer would be the biggest statement Birmingham City can make
By Chris Davies’ own admission, Birmingham City are not signing players for a single season – they are looking at players with the potential to stick around for two or three years.
So where does Alfie May fit into that? The striker has been on Blues’ radar for the best part of three years and was heavily linked with the club in the summer of 2022.
May had just enjoyed his first prolific scoring campaign in League One, with 23 goals for Cheltenham Town. He didn’t secure a transfer away from Cheltenham and produced another 20-goal campaign.
Championship clubs resisted May in 2023 but Charlton stepped in. The Addicks were rewarded with 23 goals in 43 League One games – 27 goals in 50 matches across all competitions.
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Over the last three League One seasons, no striker has scored more goals than May. It perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise to see a potential transfer tug-of-war developing over him.
Charlton are expected to be in contention for promotion under Nathan Jones but they seem willing to sell May at this point. Blues could be his next destination if they can trump Huddersfield Town.
Huddersfield have been favourites to land May and quite possibly still are. The Terriers are managed by Michael Duff, who helped launch May’s career at Cheltenham, and have been locked in discussions over a deal for most of the window.
Signing May could well be the biggest statement of intent Blues can make this summer. Yes, there will be bigger and better signings for grander sums than the 750,000 or so pounds Charlton are demanding for May, but this is an opportunity to hurt two direct rivals for promotion.
Blues would be weakening Charlton’s attacking arsenal by taking the player responsible for scoring over a third of their League One goals last season. And they would be sending Huddersfield back to the drawing board by depriving them of the player who is clearly their number one transfer target.
Whilst signing a 30-year-old who has never played above the third tier won’t set pulses racing, it is wise to recognise the position Blues find themselves in and May is a player who can help them escape it. Being able to cause direct damage to two promotion rivals in the process would be a bonus.
