Michel move will spell end of Blues spending

The Birmingham City manager, Alex McLeish, has admitted the capture of Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel will end his summer spending – if the deal goes through.

McLeish said the Blues' board had exceeded the budget for the new season in trying to sign the Spaniard from the La Liga side. But he believes Michel will enhance his squad after spending about £10m on players since City gained promotion to the top flight.

McLeish said: "Will Michel be the end of spending? I would think so because we have pushed the boat out for this. Despite the fact that we have already gone over-budget. I appreciate the board doing this but it's not done yet.

"I don't know how far the dialogue has gone. This is the time where I let the board do their job. I don't get involved in that until such time where I say we've got a deal or we've not got a deal. Michel is being courted by Spanish clubs but the boy has hung on. He knew of our interest and he wants to come to England."

McLeish has revamped his squad this summer but warned that is no guarantee Birmingham will survive because their spending power is still behind that of many clubs.

He said: "I think we spent about £10m on fees and, when you add wages to that, from the free signings and the Bosman signings, then our spending is quite significant. But it is all relative to what we are going to face in the Premier League because we are still behind most of the teams, on the quality and financial side."