Chris Davies was coy on Birmingham City’s potential acquisition of German defender Phil Neumann at his press conference on Thursday.

Neumann has long been of interest to Blues and they are expected to sign him on a free transfer in the summer. The 27-year-old is allowed to sign a pre-contract agreement with Blues this month ahead of the expiry of his Hannover 96 contract in July.

But Davies, perhaps unsurprisingly, wasn’t forthcoming when the subject of Neumann was put to him on Thursday afternoon. The Blues boss tends to keep quiet on potential incomings until everything has been formalised.

“There’s not really an update on that,” said Davies. “Obviously I know the player, he’s a good player, but there’s nothing I can give that can provide any real clarity on that.

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“We are looking at multiple options to see what’s out there, as most teams do at this time of year, but there’s nothing we can go into any detail on at the moment.”

One player who Davies was willing to talk about is goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell. The ex-Leeds United and Burnley stopper has become Blues’ cup keeper since losing his place to Ryan Allsop and could be set for back-to-back starts with an FA Cup tie against Lincoln and a Vertu Trophy clash with Swindon coming up.

Peacock-Farrell and Allsop have started one FA Cup game and two Vertu Trophy games apiece this season. It looks as though Peacock-Farrell will get the FA Cup gig.

Davies explained: “The idea for Bailey is that he’s played in recent cup matches so looking towards the weekend I would envisage Bailey getting an opportunity to play in that, but I haven’t gone as far as the Swindon game yet. I’m always cautious to go too far down the line because it’s best to get the next game done.

“Bailey has conducted himself really well. He started the season in the number one position and has then come out, but he’s handled it well, he works hard, and he’s looking forward to another opportunity.”

On a personal note, Davies has been nominated for the Manager of the Month award and will discover whether it’s third time’s the charm on Friday morning. Davies missed out on the award in August and September to Phil Parkinson and Steve Bruce respectively. Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens is his main rival for the gong this time around after Blues claimed 16 points from a possible 18 in a fruitful December.

The Blues boss commented: “It’s nice to be acknowledged in that way but for me it’s always regardless of any external recognition or criticism, it’s me looking at it and going, ‘How are we and what type of job am I doing?’

“In the main I’m happy with the job myself and the staff and the players are doing. We’re in good shape at the halfway point but it’s only going to get harder now so the challenge is going to grow.”

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