Birmingham City will secure the permanent signing of defender Alfons Sampsted in the summer transfer window after the agreement between Blues and parent club FC Twente was automatically triggered.
Blues signed right-back Sampsted in the summer to predominantly compete for the right-back spot, although he has also been utilised at centre half by Chris Davies. Sampsted hasn’t, however, played the number of matches and minutes he might’ve liked or expected.
Indeed the Icelandic has, at the time of writing, only managed to make 15 appearances in all competitions; only three of those have been starts, with two in the EFL Trophy and the other in the recent FA Cup win over Lincoln City.
Sampsted, who suffered from an ankle injury in November which sidelined him for a period in the winter, has found the competition at right-back stiff this term; Ethan Laird, Taylor Gardner-Hickman and even centre half Krystian Bielik have all been preferred at differing stages.
Reports in the Netherlands claim, rather bizarrely, that Sampsted will indeed join Blues on a permanent basis as expected in the summer transfer window which is on the horizon – due to the fact that Blues being relegated to League Two is now impossible.
Blues are on track to break Wolves’ points record of the third tier, which has stood for 11 years, between now and the end of the season. They’re 43 points clear of the relegation zone and Burton Albion, who occupy the final spot in the drop zone and can claim a maximum 36 more points in the run-in.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Sampsted at Blues, who must complete the promotion job in the coming weeks but who can afford to have one eye on a return to the Championship from hereon out. More signings will be on the agenda as the club prepare to make the step back up.
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