Birmingham City completed the eye-catching signing of Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle, who joined the club on a season-long loan.
Doyle was used sporadically by Wolves manager Vitor Pereira following his arrival in December, with the Portuguese boss shunning the 23-year-old from his plans.
Birmingham snapped up Doyle on a season-long loan, while boasting an option to buy the midfielder if they win promotion to the Premier League.
The former Manchester City gem is one of nine summer signings, including a fairytale return of Demarai Gray and the impressive £10m swoop for Celtic hero Kyogo Furuhashi.
Chris Davies’ men mean business in their relentless pursuit of top-flight football, and Doyle has now explained what drew him to the Championship side.
Tommy Doyle poses with the Birmingham City shirt after completing his loan move from Wolverhampton Wanderers
Credit: Birmingham City FC/YouTube
Tommy Doyle impressed by the level of signings Birmingham City are making
Birmingham were tipped to challenge for the top six on their return to the second tier, but after completing some Premier League-level additions, they’re surely one of the favourites for promotion.
Remarkably, Doyle snubbed interest from the top flight to join the Blues, explaining why in an interview with Mail Sport.
“It’s a good place to be,” he said. “I look at the ambition of the club and where it wants to go – there’s a clear path. It’s up to us players to put it into practice.
“You can see with some of the signings they’ve made that there’s no messing about. The club are pushing to bring in better players season after season to keep going further and further.”
Doyle was linked with a move to Sunderland earlier this summer after Jobe Bellingham completed his transfer to Borussia Dortmund, but clearly, the former England under-21 star was drawn towards the long-term project.
Next season, he will be competing with the likes of Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata for a place in Birmingham’s engine room, presenting Davies with a selection headache in the middle of the park.
Kyogo Furuhashi also snubbed Premier League interest
Although Doyle was labelled ‘the signing of the summer’ by one Championship expert, former Celtic superstar Kyogo has a strong case to steal that accolade.
The Japanese international was playing Champions League football with the Hoops last year, and now, he’s gearing up for a promotion assault.
Bournemouth reportedly showed an interest in Kyogo, among other Premier League clubs, but the 30-year-old snubbed a move to the big time due to the huge presence of the football club.
Mail Sport add that Kyogo was drawn towards the club due to the ambition shown by Tom Brady and Tom Wagner, with Birmingham ironing out plans for a new stadium.
Those plans will probably accelerate if they win promotion to the Premier League in 2025/26, something the former Rennes star is desperate to be a part of.