It’s set to be a hectic summer for Blues, with Harry Redknapp wanting to craft a side worthy of contesting for play-off spots.

The Blues board will continue to invest, despite Redknapp stating that they won’t throw “stupid money” at it.  It has been reported by a few sites that Blues will be boosted by more than £20 million. Something I seriously doubt and alternatively I think Blues fans will continue to see reasonable fees dished out similarly to what we saw in January.

Although Harry Redknapp and newly-appointed director of football Jeff Vetere have an impressive plethora of contacts within the game, what the club doesn’t  need is a host of players coming towards the back-end of their careers joining the club. We’ve already seen the likes of Niko Kranjcar, Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane linked with the club, all players with impressive CV’s but aren’t long-term fixes for the club. Not to mention the huge wages they would require.

Blues may look further a field for players, we’ve had success with Maikel Kieftenbeld who has been been a regular for the past two seasons at a cost of less than £200,000. Blues have already been linked with a player outside of England, Augsburg right-back Daniel Opare, the Ghanian has previously worked with Vetere elsewhere. You look at some of the successes in the league where teams have fetched their net abroad, Brentford’s Lasse Vibe signed for around £1 million and has scored 29 goals in 75 appearances. Panic Wildschut, who has impressed in England, signed for just £680,000 and moved to Norwich City for £7 million in January. There is quality to be seized upon for small fees abroad, and with the contacts Redknapp and Vetere have, Blues could take advantage.

It’s paramount that Blues are scrupulous in the market and are hesitant to hand big-money contracts to those who are in the twighlight period of their careers. Let’s hope the right additions are made for the club without needlessly breaking the bank.