The whizzkids of the modern transfer market are unanimous: the only strategy worth pursuing is to pay top price for the best young players.
So extreme is the obsession with youth at the top level that elite clubs will often stop and think before paying a sizeable fee even for a footballer aged 24 – no matter how good he is.
Birmingham City, who hope to have a seat at the top table within two or three seasons and are sparing little expense in their attempts to get there, have a different approach - experience over youth.