Wolves step up Roger Johnson chase

Wolves' pursuit of defender Roger Johnson has been stepped up after the player's agent confirmed he will join the exodus from Birmingham this summer.

Blues have been thrown into crisis by the shock resignation of manager Alex McLeish and the Scot's weekend bombshell adds weight to talk that the St Andrew's club will embark on a firesale following relegation.

Sebastian Larsson, Lee Bowyer and Martin Jiranek have already left Blues, who have since been thrown into chaos by McLeish's exit by e-mail yesterday.

And that has come with confirmation that Johnson is also on his way out of St. Andrew's.

His agent Paul Smith said: "Without breaching any confidences, I've had a call from Birmingham to declare that they would have to let him go.

"At 28-years-old and having played every game in the Premier League for two seasons running, he is in demand for sure. It's just a matter of who he goes to, I think.

"They need to raise funds. I think it's a financial decision. For them to declare it they're obviously weighing up who it will be better to let go and strategically how they're going to plan to get back.

"They felt that they would have to trade him to get others in."

Wolves' interest in Johnson – exclusively revealed in the Express & Star on May 23 – sees them facing stiff competition to land the former Cardiff and Wycombe defender.

Liverpool and Tottenham have been linked with the player, while Stoke are also in the market for a central defender.

But Johnson's chances of regular football are better at Molineux.

Wolves are braced for a long wait. If they are successful, the 28-year-old would become the club's record buy for a defender, but the fee is not likely to be near the £14million Blues are thought to have demanded.