Here is Dale’s latest article.

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The game is afoot, the hunt is on and the January transfer window is wide open. That said, is seems to be blowing quite a hefty gale straight back at the Blues boss, as the cold shoulders just keep on coming . . . .

There is no doubt in anybody’s minds that Blues are looking for a striker, tall, strong, athletic and of good value for money. Kevin Kuranyi was one of the first names to register with the rumour list. The Brazilian born German-Hungarian-Panamanian striker may have had a problem finding his native cuisine in the city and by the sounds of his temperament may also have scowled at the bill before sulking about paying. McLeish has made it clear that he will not compromise the dressing room spirit that has spearheaded our run of form and for this reason, along with the hefty price tag the chase was called off.

However a striker who ticked most of those boxes was a certain Trinidadian from Sunderland (slightly less complex than that of Kuranyi’s roots). Kenwyne Jones has netted five times this year for the Black cats and has found playing in the shadow of the rather inform Darren Bent, a tough task. Nevertheless a player who was once branded “The New Drogba” by the Daily Mail and has been linked with Liverpool and that team from Aston does not turn into a bad player overnight. The 25 year old, 6ft 1in striker looks threatening and with the deadly combination of pace and power will always cause problems for the opposition. That said, we already have that in Jerome and Benitez but Jones is deadly in the air. A £10m bid was tabled but upon discovering with transfer fees, add-ons, various clauses and wages over the length of contract the figure would rise to around £28m. It became too large a figure for McLeish and the board to stomach and subsequently, yet again, Blues were back on the hunt for a new striker.

Then came slight whispers of Hugo Rodallega circulating around news organisations in the West Midlands. A sporadic type of striker who has comes up with some glimpses of genius, especially silencing the crowd with a screamer at Villa Park on the opening day of the season. Netting 10 times for the Latics last season, he certainly has potential but may not be tall or prolific enough for the ambitions at St. Andrews and with Roberto Martinez putting “football over finance” when asked about Rodallega this also may be a non-runner.

A player from the Austrian club Salzburg has also been linked with Blues and standing at 6ft 5 in would fit the bill. Marc Janko has expressed his desire to play in the Premier League and with a 1 in 2 ratio for his country, has been tipped for success. The 26 year old has scored 67 goals in 92 games for his club side who may consider letting him go for a fee of around £6.5m. The risk however lies with his ability to adapt to the English game and whether he has enough goals to score outside of his home country and in a considerably tougher league.

A Roman from Russia came next with spurs reportedly looking to cash in on Roman Pavlyuchenko and Blues speculating a move. The Russian showed promise during the 2008 European Championships and had a 1 in 2 goal ratio at Spartak Moscow. However since joining Harry Redknapp’s North London side, he has failed to live up to expectations. In a pecking order behind Defoe, Crouch and Robbie Keane, the Russian international does seem to be available. The question being is he worth the gamble for Spurs asking price of around £10m?

It is safe to say that prices are certainly inflated during the January period and with McLeish wary of paying over the odds for players, he will have to choose wisely should he depart with Carson Yeung’s £40 war chest made available.