Midfield is the next area that Alex McLeish is looking to strengthen with the boss targeting a 'player of real authority' for the engine room of his side.

The Birmingham Mail yesterday claimed that Blues had been unsuccessful in negotiations to try and bring former Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira to St. Andrew's,

The Blues boss chose not to comment on the authenticity of those reports but did admit that he was looking for someone "of that calibre" to bolster his options in the centre of the park ahead of the season opener at champions Manchester United.

McLeish told bcfc.com: "I believe we are short in the midfield area and that's a position I want to strengthen.

"We are looking for players that are not fazed at the prospect of going up to Old Trafford and taking the football.

"I would like to get a player of real authority with the ball in central midfield.

"They are not easy to find and it can be very costly, which is why we've tried to do as much research on players as we could over the closing weeks of last season.

"When we qualified for the Premier League in early May it allowed us to go out and about and look at many, many players, right through to the end of May before taking some well-earned holidays in June."