Birmingham are reportedly set to seal a deal for last season’s top scorer in Europe. Surprisingly this was not one of the biggest names in club football such as Samuel Eto’o, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Cristiano Ronaldo. Instead it was a little known Austrian by the name of Marc Janko who scored a staggering 39 League goals in just 34 appearances (31 starts). Despite his heroics, the Austrian star did not earn a big money move to one of the more lucrative leagues in Europe in the summer and remains at Salzburg. However, after failing to sign Ryan Babel or Roman Pavlyuchenko, Birmingham are now in late negotiations with Salzburg as they look to strengthen their forward line.

Celtic and Blackburn have also been strongly linked with a move in the past but it is Alex McLeish who is finally set to sign the Austrian. Janko has has not been as prolific this season but has still managed an impressive 10 goals in 18 league games (16 starts) including a 4-goal haul at the start of October against Austria Karnten. Salzburg have also impressed in the Europa League with wins over Lazio (home & away) and Villarreal (home) in which Janko scored.

The 26-year-old had spoken of his ‘dream’ of playing in England and with Carson Yeung boosting Birmingham’s spending power, the Salzburg striker is widely expected to move for a fee of £6.5m.

The 6 ft 5 striker was in simply sensational form last season. Janko has broke Salzburg’s club record for League goals scored by a single player in a season. His Roy of Rovers goal-scoring exploits included 5 hat-tricks in the Austrian Bundesliga including the opening game of the season as well as four goals in a 4-3 win over bottom club Altach last October. Of his 39 strikes only 4 came from the penalty spot. This form led to scouts flocking to the Red Bull Arena including Birmingham’s who gave glowing reports of the tall powerfully built Austrian.

The in-form hitman has also openly spoken of his interest in a move to the Premier League which has encouraged the Blues.
“When I was about 12 years old, I was watching an English game on the television,” he told The Daily Mail.

“It was West Ham against Watford and everything about the game - the pace, the crowd, the atmosphere - was fantastic.

“I just turned to my father and said, ‘I’m going to play in England’, and now I want to make it happen.”

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He added: “People will say the Austrian league is not so strong and, apart from Salzburg, Rapid and Austria Vienna, that may be the case, but you still have to put chances away and my record is comparable with the best.

“Also, France, Italy and Serbia don’t have poor defences and I have scored against them. It shows I can compete against the best.

“I know clubs are interested and I know I can play in England. It may take a little time to adjust to the tempo but I can handle the physical side that everyone talks about.

“I have a strong left foot, I’m good with my right and, as you’d expect at 6ft 5ins, I’m good in the air.

“I just want to get to The Premier League and show what I can do. The club have been good enough to say I can go, but they have to find a replacement soon too, so it’s important all round that something is tied up soon.

“We need to start talking to the clubs.”

Janko began his career with Admira Wacker making 13 League appearances and scoring twice before a move to Salzburg in 2005. Since his move he’s scored an incredible 67 goals in 92 League appearances (76 starts) but only since the last campaign has he been a regular starter at the club. His form also prompted a return to the national side where he possesses a record of 6 goals in 14 appearances.

One thing’s for certain, Salzburg are facing a struggle to keep their 6 ft 5 talisman with McLeish using the funds available to bring in a proven striker. The big targetman would fit comfortably into the team’s current set-up, as he could be the perfect foil for the pace of Christian Benitez or Cameron Jerome in the Birmingham attack.

He would be an excellent alternative to the Blues forward line which has performed well in recent weeks and would give McLeish more depth to his squad as their assault on a Europa League place continues. Janko is a very hard working player so would not affect Birmingham’s current work ethic which has seen them establish themselves as a competitive Premier League club in their own right.

Do you like the look of Marc Janko? Could he be the striker your club needs for the future? Let’s hear your views.

Tags: Austria, Birmingham, Marc Janko, Premier League, Salzburg

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