Birmingham have ‘bid accepted’ for highly-rated League One star

Nestor Watach
Marcus.Maddison.TEAMtalk

Birmingham City have had a bid accepted by Peterborough United for Marcus Maddison, reports suggest.

The 26-year-old midfielder came up through the ranks at Newcastle United, but never made a senior appearance for the Premier League club, moving to St Johnstone and subsequently Gateshead in 2013.

It’s after a move to Peterborough in 2014 where he really began to forge his reputation, though. He’s scored 62 goals from 240 appearances for Posh, many of which eye-catching long-range efforts, with a knack for scoring special goals.

He’s also been a prolific provider of goals, registering 92 assists during his time with the club.

A frequent fixture of the gossip columns in recent years, it appears that a transfer up to the Championship is finally imminent, although Pep Clotet’s Blues face competition for his signature.

Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony, ever outspoken on Twitter, gave an update four days ago.

“As of this morning, Peterborough has accepted a bid from Charlton Athletic, who have permission to talk terms with the player,” he posted on Twitter.

“Two other championship clubs have bid for the player multiple times & do not currently have permission to speak to the player.”

MacAnthony had previously suggested that Peterborough had turned down two bids from Birmingham, but Football Insider now report they’ve met their valuation and are free to hold talks with the player.

The ball appears to be in Maddison’s court with who he chooses to sign for, with the reports suggesting that Peterborough are happy with the transfer fee offered by at least two Championship clubs.

Bristol City had previously been linked with a move for Maddison, but only in the event of key man Josh Brownhill leaving the club.

Both Charlton and Birmingham are looking to invest in new recruits amid struggles toward the bottom of the Championship table.

Lee Bowyer’s Addicks are 19th and five points off the drop zone, and will be looking to replace influential midfielder Conor Gallagher after he was recalled by parent club Chelsea, while Birmingham are just one place and three points above them.