BIRMINGHAM, England: Birmingham agreed to pay 6 million pounds ($12.3 million) for Tottenham striker Ahmed Mido on Friday. Mido will complete the transfer providing he can agree to a contract with the central England club. The 24-year-old Egypt forward spent two years at Tottenham, but played little last season and saw his chances of a first-team spot further reduced when Spurs signed Darren Bent from Charlton last month for a club-record 16.5 million pounds ($33.8 million). If he joins the newly promoted Blues, Mido will compete with, Gary McSheffrey and Mikael Forssell for a place in the side. Birmingham made way for Mido by selling striker DJ Campbell to League Championship club Leicester on Friday for a fee that could rise to as much as 2.1 million pounds (US$4.3 million). Campbell, who played for Leicester manager Martin Allen at Brentford, is the Foxes costliest signing since they paid Tottenham 2.5 million pounds ($5.1 million) for goalkeeper Ian Walker in 2001. Mido scored 13 league goals in 28 starts for Tottenham during an 18-month loan from AS Roma and helped the club to the brink of Champions League qualification in 2006. He joined permanently last season for a fee of about 4.5 million pounds (US$9.3 million; -6.8 million), but struggled with form and fitness, attracting jeers from fans who said he was overweight. Mido, who played for Al-Zamalek, Gent, Ajax, Celta Vigo and Marseille before joining Roma in 2004, scored just one goal in seven Premier League starts last season. He hit 18 goals in 44 games for Egypt, but has fallen out with coaches and teammates throughout his career. He was dropped from Egypt s win in the 2006 African Nations Cup final for arguing with coach Hassan Shehata when he was substituted in the semifinal.
