American-backed group in talks to buy Birmingham club

It's easy to forget that Aston Villa aren't the only Birmingham-based football club for sale right now. Birmingham City are also looking for new owners, and it seems as if the Championship side may have found them. In a statement on the club's website, chairman Peter Pannu said: "I can confirm that BIHL remains in advanced talks with a British consortium with a very strong North American investment fund."

Now, I make an effort to avoid as much news about the Blues as is possible, but I will make an exception for this story. If the group does have strong American financial backing, it may have some link to the rumours of Bob Rich's plane being at BHX airport. Given Rich's fortune and previous sports purchases, Birmingham City are more in line with what I would expect him to be buying. Add into that the fact that the American investment is not the whole deal, and this starts to make a lot of sense.

Of course, it's not certain that Rich is part of the group buying Birmingham City, but given the things we (think) we know, it's the explanation that makes the most sense.