Birmingham "activate buy option" for star Colombian loanee

Birmingham City have acted quickly sign Jhon Solis on a permanent deal following a successful loan spell at the club.

The 21-year-old quickly established himself as a regular fixture in head coach Chris Davies' midfield after completing a temporary move from Spanish outfit Girona in January and, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Blues will pay £6m to trigger the option to buy in his contract.

Solis accrued 17 Championship appearances during his four-month stint with the Midlands side, making 13 starts before the season concluded.

It is now expected that he will remain in B9 permanently as Birmingham eye up a playoff spot.

Solis netted his solitary Blues goal during a 2-1 victory over Bristol City on the penultimate day of the season, cementing his spot as a firm favourite amongst the St. Andrew's faithful.

Blues fans therefore will have been pleased when Romano dropped a significant update on his future early on Friday morning.

"Excl: Birmingham City activate €7m buy option clause for Jhon Solis," Romano wrote on X.

"#BCFC anticipate timing as it [the buy option] was going to expire in one week but the club firmly believes in the player."

Prior to the end of last season, Davies made it clear that securing Solis' services on a more permanent basis was high on the priority list.

"I know the player loves it here. I've told him how well he's done and how much we would love for him to be part of it, and he's really enthusiastic, but we'll have to see how it all unfolds after the season finishes," Davies told BirminghamLive.

The Birmingham hierarchy appear to be placing a lot of faith in Davies this summer, backing him in the transfer market whilst also attempting to recruit a new director of football following Craig Gardner's decision to step down from the role.

A recruitment process is underway and Dan Ashworth, Mike Rigg and Matt Crocker are amongst the potential candidates.