Highly-rated-Brest attacking midfielder- Birmingham City and Derby County compete for Dembele.

Brest attacking midfielder Karamoko Dembele is reportedly wanted by Derby County and Birmingham City this summer, and pundit Carlton Palmer believes that by having his brother Siriki Dembele in their ranks, Brum could hold a unique advantage over their rivals.

The Blues could pitch the notion of playing with his brother to Karamoko, but it is reported that the attraction of playing for Birmingham could well dissipate should Siriki be sold this month.

Blackburn Rovers have been credited with an interest in Siriki, whilst it has been revealed that Karamoko would prefer a Championship move this summer, with Derby County hopeful of beating Birmingham to his signature.

Carlton Palmer: “Championship opportunity could hold the key”

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Palmer believes that so long as Siriki remains a Birmingham City player, the Blues may well be able to use that to beat Derby to his signature, but also states that a Championship move would be hard to turn down.

Palmer said: “Derby County and Birmingham City are in a tug of war to sign talented 21-year-old Karamoko Dembele.

“Dembele was on loan at Blackpool in League One last season, where he had a very, very good season which has brought attention to a lot of people.

“Derby are wanting to do a deal with his French club Brest for the speedy forward, but Birmingham City are hoping that his brother – Siriki Dembele – who plays for Birmingham, will hold the link for them and give them an advantage in signing him.

“The thing is, he did play in League One last year and shone, so the opportunity to play in the Championship with Derby could hold the key. There is also talk of his brother being sold, so if he is, that would weaken Birmingham’s stance.

Obviously you want to play as high as you can, and to be given the opportunity to play in the Championship with Derby would, you would think, hold the key to the signing.

“But the prospect of playing with your brother at Birmingham, and winning promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt, might sway the decision.

“We’ll have to wait and see if Derby can agree a fee with the French side, we know that Birmingham have the money and we know that Derby’s purse strings are a little tighter.

“Paul Warne still wants to bring in more signings to help Derby stay in the Championship next season.”

Dembele should take Championship chance
karamoko dembele
There are no guarantees in football, and as much as Birmingham City are looking like they could be too strong for their League One opposition in 2024/25, they still have to go and prove it.

Warne has proven himself to be among the EFL’s best managers in recent years, having guided Rotherham to multiple Championship promotions,overseeing one of the club’s most successful eras between 2016-2022.

Now in charge at Pride Park, Dembele’s game could well be taken to another level under the tutorage of the 51-year-old coach, whilst helping to form a highly promising attack that already contains the likes of Jerry Yates, Kayden Jackson and Corey Blackett-Taylor to name a few.

Karamoko Dembele’s Blackpool 23/24 stats (all comps), per FotMob

Dembele could well emerge as a key player for the Rams fairly instantly, whereas that may not be the case straight away at St. Andrew’s, as the Blues’ summer recruitment drive has seen the likes of Marc Leonard, Willum Willumsson, Emil Hansson, Alfie May and Luke Harris added to their attacking ranks.

On top of those arrivals, talented attacking midfield players such as Koji Miyoshi and Tyler Roberts would make that pathway to regular minutes even more complicated.

As such, Dembele may not receive the same amount of opportunities to shine as he did at Bloomfield Road last season, and so not only would a move to Derby provide a chance for the youngster to play at a higher level, but also potentially provide a greater opportunity for regular minutes.