GOODNEWS for BIRMINGHAM as the new coach signs world class player from......

Just under 10 years ago, the name Alen Halilovic was one Birmingham City fans may have only known because of Football Manager or FIFA, and they never thought he might end up playing for them one day.

However, the Croatian super talent would end up staying nearly a year with the Blues after he signed under Aitor Karanka back in 2020.

He only stayed until that next summer, and is now at Fortuna Sittard, where he is excelling once again, which is why Marca sat down with him to discuss his career, which really took off when Barcelona bought him from Dinamo Zagreb for €5m back in 2014.

He would only spend two years with the Catalan side, including a loan at Sporting Gijón, which then saw him leave for HSV and travel Europe, with spells at AC Milan, Standard Liège, Heerenveen, Birmingham City, Reading, HNK Rijeka and now back in the Netherlands with Fortuna Sittard.

The midfielder spoke about his time at St Andrew’s, and was surprisingly upbeat about it, revealing that only Karanka leaving caused him to move onto other pastures.

He said: “At Birmingham, for example, I felt very good. Karanka, who knew me from Spain, called me and I was very happy. However, he left, and almost all the players he had brought in ended up leaving.”

During his time at Birmingham, Halilovic made 17 appearances and scored one goal.