Birmingham chairman David Gold has made a ham-fisted effort to unsettle Andrew Johnson by confirming his club’s interest in the player and claiming he will be ‘stunned’ if AJ stays with Palace.
His remarks come after several papers linked the Midlands club with a move for the 22-goal striker, despite Palace chairman Simon Jordan confirming he has no interest in selling.
Gold told The Daily Mail:
"Andrew Johnson is the sort of exciting player we want to come to Birmingham City although you've got to imagine that there will be a lot of Premiership clubs interested in him.""What seems certain to me is that he will want to play in the Premiership. I'm aware that he has said he won't leave Palace and kissing the badge and all that is very romantic.
"But the fact is that he is an England player and needs to remain in the Premiership. When was the last time an England player played for a club outside of the top flight? I will be stunned if Andy is still at Palace in August."