BIRMINGHAM CITY hope to set an early benchmark for the rest of the Championship this week by completing a £3m move for long term Sunderland target Cameron Jerome.

It is a move that will frustrate Black Cats supporters who are becoming restless while Niall Quinn's consortium decides whether or not to push ahead in their attempt to take over on Wearside.

Birmingham and Sunderland were among the clubs to fell out of the Premiership earlier this month and the fact the Blues are already willing to splash big money on new players highlights huge differences between the two.

Fans have sent numerous e-mails and made plenty of phone calls to Sunderland over the past few weeks to try to find out exactly what stage the take over is at.

However, while Quinn and his men examine the books, there is unlikely to be a favourable outcome until at least the end of June or beginning of July - if at all.

All the Sunderland board are able to say is that there is a period of due diligence and that it 'could be weeks or even months before the club or the consortium is able to announce any progress'.

That inevitably will have a detrimental affect on Sunderland's power in the transfer market. Any players they could be in the market for may have moved on already during that time.

Huddersfield-born striker Jerome was tracked on two separate occasions by former boss Mick McCarthy but he was never in a position to match Cardiff's valuation.

The 20 goals he scored for the Bluebirds last season highlighted his class in the Championship and he would be the sort of player the new manager would normally consider.

However Birmingham, who have revealed in the last few days that manager Steve Bruce will be staying on despite relegation, are not in the same state Sunderland find themselves.

That means Bruce, whose budget has already been helped by the departure of expensive loan signings Jiri Jarosik and Nicky Butt, can ask his board to press ahead with his squad plans for life in the Championship.

The likes of Chris Sutton and Mikael Forssell are also lmoving on and Jerome was at St Andrews yesterday to finalise the deal.

So while all the takeover talk may be exciting to the Sunderland faithful they will also be worried that the drawn out process is going to hinder their chances of a quick return to the top-flight.

The players are due back for pre-season training on June 26 and they are unlikely to be joined by any new faces in that time.

And it is also more than likely Kevin Ball will be asked to coach them until a permanent manager is appointed.

The state of flux threatens to have a negative effect on Sunderland's start to the new season in August and there will be a determination on Quinn's part to try to get the deal done as quickly as possible. If, indeed, it is going to take place.

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