Birmingham City boss reveals how close he was to beating Sheffield Wednesday to Leeds United transfer

Birmingham City boss Tony Mowbray has revealed his side were "very close" to signing Ian Poveda in January, as the winger completed a deadline day move to Sheffield Wednesday.

As reported by The Star on February 1, Birmingham were interested in signing Poveda, who had played under Mowbray at Blackburn Rovers. However, the Owls won the race to sign the Colombian. He made his first start for the club on Friday night as Danny Röhl's side defeated Birmingham 2-0 at Hillsborough, with Poveda assisting the first of Ike Ugbo's two goals to boost Wednesday's Championship survival hopes.

And now Mowbray has revealed how close his side were to securing a deal for the player, who he hailed as "very talented" having got to know the player at Ewood Park.

“Poveda is a good player, I would have to say,” Mowbray said. “We were very close to signing Poveda in this window just gone. He's a player I had at Blackburn Rovers and is a very talented young boy.”