Birmingham Chase Bougherra

Owls chairman Dave Allen has revealed to Radio Sheffield that promotion-chasing Birmingham City are the latest club to express a desire in highly-rated owls defender Madjid Bougherra.

The Algerian international has been linked with a number of Premiership clubs including Charlton Athletic, Everton and Newcastle United but could now make the move to St Andrew's should the Blues let Matthew Upson leave the club.

Allen told Radio Sheffield: 'I think if Birmingham come in properly we'll be able to do a proper deal with them because I know their directors very well and we'll be able to deal with things sensibly. It depends what happens with Matthew Upson there.

And Allen admitted that although in an ideal world he would like Bougherra to stay at the club - a bid in the region of £3m would be hard to turn down.

'I'd like the lad to stay. Everyone would like him to stay. But at the end of the day if we get £3 million for him it'll be a deal well done.'

Wednesday have already turned down a bid in the region of £1.3 million for Bougherra's services from Charlton Athletic but an improved offer of £3 million could see Owls boss Brian Laws dip in to the transfer market.

Allen has already gone on record as saying that any money received for players up to £2 million could go in to Laws' transfer kitty while anything extra would go to the bank to pay off the debt.

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