This is where the fun really starts – Ferret's mates on the Birmingham Mail where today insisting that Baggies boss Tony Mowbray was having a little look at Youssef.
In fact, they slapped it in the paper this morning.
“The Baggies have also made an inquiry for Moroccan midfielder Safri. Although no official bid has gone in, there has been some discussion between the two clubs to establish the feasibility of a possible transfer,” said the story, on the official www.icbirmingham.co.uk website.
Quite how “feasible” that possible transfer will be is, of course, another matter.
With Earnie out of the door on Friday, to see Safs disappearing off to the Midlands a couple of days later might test a few nerves – it might also explain why Carrow Road is fairly rocking with activity right now.
And why, exactly, everyone is pulling out all the stops to make sure that Billy Davies' reported interest in his one-time Deepdale star Dickson Etuhu stays just that – imagine the fun and games that could be had if both Safs and Etuhu disappeared.
But the Safs story has a possibility to it.
The fact that this season is African Cup of Nations time and he disappears for the better part of five weeks come January is not an ideal scenario.
And nor do you always sense that Granty wants his principal playmaker to be sitting so deep; he wants to get onto more of the front foot, more of the time.
That's why, ideally, he'd probably want a higher energy player sat in alongside Dickson. Someone with a degree more mobility; a Holty, in fairness.
Should the whole move prove “feasible”, it is one of those moves that will test the supporters' nerves if no immediate and obvious replacement is forthcoming.
That's why the Jamie deal worked so well on Friday – that he took the sting out of Earnie's sudden exit; that there was only a two-hour gap between one going and one coming – no real time for any anger or dismay to gather and fester.
True, City had to pay for that – good player that he is, a three-year deal for a 31-year-old suggests that the Canaries weren't in much position to argue come last Thursday.
Likewise the fee with the Us was at the higher end of what Norwich might have been hoping to pay had time been on their side; hed they tme to play a few of the want-away games.
And Safs' potential exit will be the same – if that story has 'legs', then expect a sweetener to arrive by way of return. One out, one straight in. Keep the merry-go-round spinning.
As it stands at the moment, however, and the whole thing is a complete blur. It'll be a while yet before the dust settles.
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