Van Nistelrooy has been out of favour with Real Madrid

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has ruled out signing Real Madrid forward Ruud van Nistelrooy in the January transfer window.

The 33-year-old former Manchester United striker has slipped down the pecking order at the Bernabeu.

"Ruud, with his career, might not see himself going down from a club like Real Madrid to Birmingham," he said.

The Blues have also been linked with Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko and Slovakia striker Jan Novak.

McLeish believes that the kind of fee Wolfsburg would require if they want to sell Dzeko would be out of City's price range, but Novak has been training at St Andrews over the past few days.

The 24-year-old MFK Kosice player, who would cost about £2m, has impressed the manager.

606: DEBATE Give your reaction to Novak

McLeish said: "Novak has been training with us this week and he has showed up quite well.

"It is difficult to get a real good look at him because you don't get the chance to see him in a game situation.

"I don't know what the way forward is regarding his contract. It has just been an opportunity to bring him in and have a look.

"He has a decent enough record at a good level. His form is good and he is going to the World Cup. It is a player we will talk to over the next couple of days about what the possibilities are."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version