Forssell has been a revelation in the Midlands, not surprising when you consider their next best striker is Clinton "Yeah man, I is Irish" Morrison. And Birmingham are pulling out all the stops in a bid to keep him for next season.

Brum chairman David Gold revealed : "From my discussions with Mikael it is clear that he enjoys playing for Birmingham City. He loves being the first striker on the team sheet.

"He enjoys working with the management here. What he knows is that if he goes back to Chelsea he could be spending a season not scoring 20 goals and sitting on the substitutes' bench next season.

"Short of him being brought back by Chelsea, if Mikael has a decision to make, I think that decision would be for him to stay on loan at Birmingham for another season if we can't do a permanent deal.

"By him staying on loan, he does keep his options open and so do Chelsea. In a way the on-loan thing is the best bet for everyone. Chelsea would still have their player should they find difficulties with their strike force, although we would want another year deal."

Personally, if Mikael is to be loaned out again, I would rather it was to a team in Europe. Birmingham still have a good chance but, should they fail to make it, we shouldn't hesitate to send him elsewhere.