Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish today made his third signing of the summer to add to the capture last week of Ecuador international Christian Benitez and veteran defender Stephen Carr.

This time, the Blues have looked much closer to home, paying West Midlands neighbours Coventry City a reported £4 million for their centre-back and skipper Scott Dann.

The club’s official website has confirmed the deal for the 22-year-old, who played 49 games for the Championship outfit last season, scoring four goals, including one against Birmingham at the Ricoh Arena.

The England Under-21 international has played previously for another West Midlands outfit, Walsall, for whom he played 69 games after joining in 2004.

McLeish is certainly moving swiftly to improve quality and numbers at St Andrews, and further signings will surely follow. Rumours in the local press in Birmingham have also implied that the Scotsman might look to bring in Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson as one of his recruits, though nothing concrete has yet emerged on that link.