Birmingham City could take a major step towards securing their Championship survival this evening when they face Brentford.

An unexpected defeat for Rotherham United in their clash with Wycombe Wanderers yesterday has opened the door for the Blues who could extend the gap between them and the relegation zone to nine points by beating the Bees.

However, Birmingham manager Lee Bowyer will be under no illusions about how difficult it will be to stop Ivan Toney at the Brentford Community Stadium as the forward has already netted 28 league goals and thus will be determined to add to this particular tally tonight.

Whilst Bowyer will be focusing on doing everything he can to keep Birmingham in the Championship over the next few weeks, his potential plans for the upcoming transfer window may have already been scuppered.

According to the Daily Mail, the Blues are one of ten second-tier sides who were placed under a transfer embargo by the Football League last month.

Whereas Huddersfield Town have since been removed from this particular list and Stoke City are expected to follow in their footsteps, Birmingham, Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers, Cardiff City, Coventry City, Luton Town and Reading are all still thought to be affected.

As a result of this embargo, all of the aforementioned clubs will not be able to register new players until they are capable of improving their financial situations.

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

If this report turns out to be true, this is unquestionably a huge blow for Birmingham who have struggled financially for several years.

After being handed a points deduction by the Football League in 2019 for breaching profitability and sustainability rules, the Blues were then forced to challenge a separate ruling last season which saw them avoid another penalty.

Whilst Bowyer would have been wary of Birmingham's situation before joining the club last month, he will have every right to be frustrated with this particular update.

Although the Blues boss can still create a shortlist in terms of players he wants to bring to St Andrew's this summer, he will not be able to sign anyone until this embargo is lifted and thus could potentially miss out on some of his key targets.