According to Graeme Bailey, Wycombe Wanderers are fighting to retain Richard Kone, while Birmingham City and Middlesbrough have expressed interest.
Wycombe Wanderers lost to Birmingham City in the battle for Championship promotion. The Chairboys fell in the play-offs after missing out on the top two, while BCFC easily won League One.
The Blues, backed by significant finances, now have visions of continuing their journey towards the English footballing elite, while Wycombe will fight for promotion again in Mike Dodds’ first full season.
The Adams Park outfit face a fight to keep their star performers though, one of whom being hotshot striker Richard Kone.
Birmingham City and Middlesbrough are among the teams interested in a potential One deal following Wycombe’s failure to win promotion, according to Graeme Bailey, who reports for EFL Analysis. Burnley is also a fan, and over the past six months, relegated teams Ipswich Town and Southampton have occasionally shown interest in him.
To ward off interest from BCFC and others, Wycombe Wanderers plans to make Kone a contract offer.
Although it is unclear if he is eager to stay and if the club can ward off interest, the deal would make him the highest-paid player in their club’s history.
Kone’s 2024/25 campaign
The meteoric rise of Richard Kone has been well-documented by this point, but his journey deserves to have been highlighted so significantly.
Jumping up from the lower reaches of non-league football, the 21-year-old Ivorian instantly became a hit at Wycombe Wanderers. Last season, Kone hit new heights, managing 21 goals and five assists in 52 games to fire Wycombe Wanderers on in their promotion push.
There was significant interest from the likes of Luton Town last season, and it seems Birmingham City and Middlesbrough could be the latest to try and prise the youngster away from Adams Park.
An opportunity for Birmingham City to show off their strength
It will probably cost a lot of money to persuade Wycombe Wanderers to trade Kone, even though he is in the final year of his contract.
On the other hand, Birmingham City is the only Championship team with such record. A Kone chase would be another opportunity for the Blues to blow clubs away with large wage offers and transfer fees, as they have demonstrated.
It wouldn’t be shocking if BCFC made a big move to try to entice Kone to St. Andrew’s in an attempt to demonstrate how much better they are than their former League One rivals.
