Birmingham City: Boyd or Pavlyuchenko? You decide!

Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish has made no secret of his desire to bolster his striking options this month due to injuries to Cameron Jerome and Kevin Phillips and the two main names in the frame this transfer window have been Kris Boyd of Glasgow Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur’s Roman Pavlyuchenko. But, Birmingham fans, if you were in McLeish’s boots who would you rather have at St Andrews?

Kris Boyd

The Rangers marksman has just smashed Henrik Larsson’s goalscoring record in the SPL and has a knack of being in the right place at the right time. He may not be the most athletic striker in the game but he is certainly one of the best finishers.

McLeish knows him well from his time at Ibrox and firmly believes that he has the skills to cut it in the top flight. He would also bed in fairly easily with the help of his former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson, who surprisingly has been a huge hit at St Andrews.

One of the biggest criticism of Boyd is that he fails to score in the big games but even Aston Villa and former Celtic boss Martin O’Neill is keeping tabs on Boyd’s availability so he must have something about him. The Scot is one of those players who may not do a thing in 88 minutes but then pops up with the winner and a player of that ilk is hard to find.

Birmingham reportedly agreed a fee for Boyd this month but the player could not agree personal terms. Interest in Boyd has cooled but could McLeish make a last-ditch bid to get the man he brought to Rangers from Kilmarnock and take him to Birmingham?

Roman Pavlyuchenko

The Russian striker has fallen down the pecking order at White Hart Lane and Eidur Gudjohnsen’s arrival at Spurs means his chances of first-team action will be even more limited. However, Spurs want to recoup as much of the £14 million they paid Spartak Moscow for his services in 2008.

Pavlyuchenko, unlike Boyd, has vital experience of the Premier League although he has only been used sparingly at the Lane. He has also only found the back of the net nine times in a Tottenham shirt.

McLeish is a big admirer of the Russian but his valuation of the player falls way short of Tottenham’s. Can he agree a deal before Monday’s transfer window closes or is he not worth that amount of money?

 

Pavlyuchenko was a scoring machine at Spartak Moscow and maybe Spurs were the wrong club for him. A change of scenery with a manager who has absolute faith in his ability could be just what the Russian needs to make his mark in the Premier League. However, if Birmingham were to pay near £14 million for him it would be a huge gamble given his form for Spurs.

Kris Boyd, who would cost a fraction of that now – or nothing in the summer – would be a far better option in my eyes. He wouldn’t have a huge price tag hanging over his head and would be hungry to prove himself in the top flight. And if it did go all Pete Tong for him at St Andrews then at least he wouldn’t have cost the club an absolute fortune.

Other strikers that Birmingham have been linked with this month include Aruna Dindane, Kenwyne Jones, Kevin Kuranyi, Nikola Zigic, Klass Jan Huntelaar and even Andrei Shevchenko.

But Birmingham fans, tell me, who would you rather have at the club? Boyd or Pavlyuchenko? I’d love to hear from you.