Birmingham City have moved quickly to turn Jhon Solís's loan into a permanent deal, with the midfielder signed from Girona on a four-year contract subject to clearance. He will officially join Birmingham on July 1. The move gives the club their first signing of the summer, and it comes after a loan spell that clearly left a mark.
Why Birmingham pushed to make the move permanent
Solis only spent the second half of last season at Birmingham, but that was enough for the club to act. He made 18 appearances in all competitions, scored once, and helped them finish 10th in the Championship, their highest-league finish for a decade. That is a decent return for a 21-year-old arriving mid-season, especially when a club is already showing it wants to build on momentum rather than restart from scratch.
The transfer fee has not been disclosed, but the structure tells you plenty. Birmingham did not wait around, and they did not treat Solis as a short-term loan fix. A four-year deal suggests they see a player who can grow with them, not just cover a gap.
What Solis brings from Girona
There is a level of experience here that should not be ignored. Solis made five Champions League appearances for Girona against Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and Arsenal. That is useful background for a player still only 21, and it gives Birmingham something they did not have to guess at during his loan spell.
Girona’s league campaign was a difficult one. They finished 19th in La Liga with 41 points from 38 matches, and that adds a bit of context to why Solis is moving on now. Birmingham, meanwhile, have won three of their last five matches across all competitions, so this is a club that has at least kept some momentum while moving early in the market.
If Birmingham wanted a signing they already know, this fits. If they wanted a low-risk addition with senior European experience, this fits too. The real test now is whether Solis can turn a promising loan into a settled role once he arrives on July 1.
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