Birmingham are poised to tie up the signing of Derby midfielder Stephen Pearson for £600,000.

A move to St Andrews will reunite the 25-year-old with Blues manager Alex McLeish, who knows the Lanark-born left-winger from their time together with the Scotland national team.

Pearson’s capture comes in the same week as Birmingham lost another midfielder, Olivier Kapo, who rejoined former Blues manager Steve Bruce at Wigan in a deal totalling £3.25m.

While Pearson is not viewed as a direct replacement, further reinforcement is on the way into St Andrews in the shape of Holland U21 midfielder Kemy Agustien, who has been cleared by his club AZ Alkmaar to join McLeish’s side on loan.

The 21-year-old spent last season on loan in the Eredivisie with Roda JC, where he is still highly regarded, but is choosing to try his luck in English football’s second tier.

The utility man can play anywhere across midfield but is predominately right-sided, which is likely to be of great use to McLeish, who still has no idea whether Sebastian Larsson will be at St Andrews next season and has new signing Lee Carsley to fill the immediate breach left by Kapo.

With Marcus Bent and Kevin Phillips in to bolster the attack, the Blues appear to be shaping up well for the season ahead.