There aren't too many - indeed if any - individuals associated with Birmingham City who can say, hand on heart, that they have watched as much of Phil Neumann in action - in the flesh, no less - over the course of the last couple of years as Andy Power.

Andy is a Bluenose based in the city of Hanover, where he has lived with his wife following the restrictions lifting after the subsiding of the Covid pandemic a little over two years ago. Having met his wife during an impromptu trip to Berlin a number of years ago with his brother and mate, after a fateful day out to see Hannover 96 in action against Borussia Monchengladbach, Andy decided to relocate.

Having been home and away with Blues through the era of Trevor Francis' management, through to the Carling Cup triumph and beyond, football nut Andy decided to support his newfound local team when making the life-changing move to the European mainland. Purchasing a season ticket for Hannover upon arrival, Andy has consequently seen an awful lot of Neumann. Who better placed, then, to give an opinion?

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The towering centre half is expected to take the plunge and test himself with Blues from the summer onwards, when his Hannover deal expires. With any luck, it'll be a decision which benefits all parties, as Hannover maintain a very live chance of winning promotion to the Bundesliga come the spring. Neumann, needless to say, is a pivotal figure in their side and will be considered a huge loss when he leaves.

That likely isn't to happen this month, though. The plan, the ideal scenario, is for Blues to be a Championship team again by the time Neumann links up with them in Henley-in-Arden in pre-season. What remains now is something of a waiting game for all parties.

"They're very keen to keep him," Andy told BirminghamLive . "They still have a very good chance of getting promoted - they're two points off second and four off the top. They're still challenging to go up this year and, realistically, they should go up. They want to keep him and let him go for free in the summer."

Neumann, who represented Germany's different age groups in the earlier part of his career, joined Hannover in 2022 from Holstein Kiel, where he'd been a regular for three years. Since making the move to the Niedersachsenstadion, he has struck up a formidable partnership in the heart of the Hannover defence with Marcel Halstenberg, who is six years his senior.

"If he was six years younger, he'd be an even better player than Neumann, but he's 33," Andy explained. "He's class, a very special player and I think Neumann, playing alongside him, has helped because he's so cool and very good on the ball. Let's not beat around the bush, though - Neumann is a top player at this level, a top centre half.

"He is an absolute steal if they get him, based on what I've seen over the last two or three years. If they lost him in January, it'd be a massive blow. If he's going in the summer on a free, that'd please everybody because if he went now, I don't see how Hannover replace him in time. It'd put the brakes on the promotional challenge because he is that good a player.

"I've stood next to him a couple of times. Where the training ground is in Hanover, it's about 100 metres away from the ground and they walk from one to the other. If you're down there, you'll see them making that walk. I've been down there and they've walked past - he's huge. Six foot four. With that height, he's not bulky. He's slender, extremely tall but very strong.

"I would fancy him against any centre forward in League One or the Championship. I don't think he'll have any problems with the physicality of the English leagues. He and Halstenberg complement each other. When Halstenberg gets caught out on the odd occasion, Neumann sweeps up. I can't see him losing many balls in the air, it's one of his biggest attributes so I think he'll have no trouble coping."

Andy was back over in England over the Christmas period and attended Blues' goalless draw with Blackpool at St Andrew's during that time, taking in the performance of Christoph Klarer, who is an existing success story from Germany. Blues lured the defender, who had the opportunity to play higher, last summer and he has often proven to be far too good for the level at which Blues are currently operating.

Neumann, who turns 28 in the summer, could be as good - if not even better - for Andy's money and the potential partnership they could form moving forwards is an exciting prospect indeed, especially as Neumann is as comfortable with the ball at his feet as he is when attacking it in the air - something which'll tick a significant box for Chris Davies as he continues to roll out his desired style of play.

"German players traditionally have been very comfortable on the ball and he's no different, no matter the system," Andy continues. "He won't shy away from having the ball. Like everybody, every now and again he'll make a weird mistake and he almost has a memory blip, but that's once in a blue moon. I've got nothing to say, really, from a weakness point of view about him because he's a very, very good player. He'll be a big loss to Hannover. He's that good.

"I'm sat here in a little bit of disbelief still that they're actually getting him. They might not be the Munichs or Leipzigs or Dortmunds, but there are still good teams out here. I've watched Klarer and I've read and listened to what people have said about him - I'd go as far as saying Neumann might be even better than Klarer.

"Klarer is class. He played for Darmstadt, who played Hannover a couple of seasons ago and Hannover beat them 3-1. I've watched Klarer a few times and I saw him against Blackpool when I was over at Christmas - he's class. Neumann is equal, if not better. If you put those two next to each other, that's a pretty special back two - not in League One but the Championship, and possibly further."

With Klarer as a case study and, all being well, Neumann to follow, is it fair to surmise that Germany remains a rather untapped market when it comes to the transfermarket?

"Definitely," Andy reasoned. "From a Hannover point of view, I can't think of anybody other than Neumann that you could honestly say would be as good a signing for Blues. There're some good players elsewhere, though. You watch them and you think 'they're pretty good', they're better than 2. Bundesliga. Germany will always produce good players."

For Andy himself, he has been in touch with Blues about helping the Official Supporters' Club programme to spread its wings and branch out abroad. Hannover Blues OSC is being finalised and overseen by Andy and is set to become Blues' first overseas supporters' club on the map.

"It's a one club city," Andy adds of Hanover. "It's a big city, but it's still only the 12th biggest in Germany. It's a great club. You could almost compare it to Blues and I'm not just saying it. They have a really strong and passionate following. In the big games in 2. Bundesliga, Schalke, Hamburg, last year St Pauli, it was a sell-out. The ground holds 50,000. For the big clubs, they bring 8,000 away.

"It's a big club, it's a great city, it's a lovely ground and it was pretty scandalous that for the Euros that Hanover wasn't considered because of the location. It's an hour and a half from Berlin, on the train. If you look at their ground it's like an old Wembley style, but it's fantastic - as is the atmosphere on match-day."

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