Phil gets NEU lease of life after 'angry' saga!

PHIL Neumann admits he would have loved to have been part of Blues’ League One title-winning charge.

- By BRIAN DICK

Neumann joined on a free transfer from Hannover 96 earlier this summer and, standing 6ft 3ins tall and blessed with pace, the 28-year-old has shown just why Blues were so keen to bring him in.

Indeed, they tried to do so 12 months ago, but the 2 Bundesliga club refused to sell the impressive centre-back, who is now forging a no-nonsense partnership with captain Christoph Klarer, and also knocked back Blues’ attempts in January.

In the end, Neumann could do no more than sign a pre-contract agreement, which meant he had to wait a year for the transfer - and even then Hannover were unhappy that Blues announced the deal an hour after they had played Jahn Regensburg.