Kris Boyd's expected move to Birmingham has hit a delay after a row over personal terms left the deal in limbo. The Rangers striker travelled to Birmingham tonight to discuss a contract and undergo a medical, but unforeseen stumbling blocks have arisen during the talks, in which it had been assumed Boyd would sign a five-year-contract, worth £20,000, with the St Andrews club.
Following 24 hours of negotiations between the clubs it is understood Birmingham had agreed to pay an initial £3.8m for the former Scotland striker – 20% of which will go to Kilmarnock, his former club – plus about £1m in add-ons relating to appearances and City gaining promotion to the Premier League, but their bartering could potentially have all been for nothing.
The disagreement is a blow for Alex McLeish, the Birmingham manager who brought Boyd to Rangers and also worked with him while in charge of the Scotland national team, and had hoped to parade the striker as his player as early as tomorrow.
The possible departure of Boyd, who has scored 20 goals in 21 outings this season, will cause ructions among the Rangers support as the team seeks to prevent Celtic from securing four championships in succession. The 25-year-old forward may not be the only player to make an exit at Ibrox, however, as the defender Madjid Bougherra remains linked with possible moves to Marseille, Auxerre and Newcastle United while two other top-flight English clubs are believed to have joined Joe Kinnear, the manager on Tyneside, in the pursuit of the Rangers captain, Barry Ferguson.
While Ferguson has no strong inclination to return to the England – he previously endured an ill-fated time at Blackburn Rovers – Rangers would find it hard to refuse a bid in excess of £2m for the 30-year-old. The Rangers manager, Walter Smith, meanwhile, will turn his attention to the English Premier League's loan market in an attempt to increase his attacking options given Boyd's imminent move.
