After initially talking with Tottenham about a loan deal, Birmingham boss Steve Bruce was surprised to that his board were willing to pay 6 million for the Egyptian’s services,
“We’ve been chasing him for a while and we started off negotiating a loan,” Bruce told the Birmingham Mail.
“Then I was told we could buy Mido and (Hossam) Ghaly too. It was a bit of a surprise.
“To be fair to our board they have realised, as well as I have, that you have got to be competitive in this current market, so we’ve gone out and made a big investment.
“Mido’s a top, top player and quite a character. He’s of the right age – 24 – and I think the Birmingham fans will love him.
“Mido’s got a bit of everything in his game. He’s strong and powerful, good in the air, and he can play a bit too let me tell you. I’m absolutely delighted.”
Even though some Spurs fans have been in stitches over the fee, the reality is that Mido is a good Premiership player who was in the wrong situation. If Mido plays week in and week out, he can stay in shape and is very effective as he was for Spurs two seasons ago. If Mido sits on the bench waiting for an opportunity to play, he becomes fat and unshaven as he did for Spurs one season ago. You would think that wouldn’t be the case for a professional sportsman, but hey that’s life. If he stays healthy, double digit Premiership goals would not surprise us in the least.
Ghaly, as well, is a player whose potential put him on par with some of Tottenham’s more regular starters but his consistency let him down. At a club like Birmingham, the fans won’t be rabidly demanding perfection every minute and he should do a great job for them as well.