Jacques Maghoma has joined Birmingham City, the club have confirmed.
Maghoma leaves Sheffield Wednesday to join the Blues on a free transfer, despite telling the Star earlier this summer that he was eager to sign a new deal with the Yorkshire club. He has put pen to paper on a two-year deal at Birmingham, with the option of a third.
The 27-year-old played under current Blues boss Gary Rowett at Burton Albion, and it was his four-year stint with the Brewers that earned him a move to the Championship with Wednesday.
Maghoma was a huge success at Burton
During his time with Burton, Maghoma played 172 games, scoring 32 goals, and was the club's Player of the Year in the 2012-13 season - his final campaign with them. It therefor, comes at little surprise that the player has described Rowett's presence at Birmingham as "a big influence" in his decision to join them.
Speaking to Birmingham Mail, the midfielder said that Rowett's guidance helped him "[raise] [his] game to another level," and this "helped [him] get [his] move into the Championship." Thus, he told the news outlet that a renunion with the manager after being released from Wednesday is "almost perfect."
Maghoma has stated that he's already "got a really good feeling about next season" because of "how well [Birmingham] have done since [Rowett] took over." He explained that the manager "makes players believe they can achieve stuff" and that he gives them "a lot of confidence going into games."
He elaborated on the influence this has on a player's performance, saying that, "once a manager believes in you it makes it much easier for you to perform." The DR Congo international also credited the 41-year-old's intelligence "tactically" and mentioned the "good staff behind him," who "all work well together" along with the Rowett.
He has played for a number of clubs in England
Maghoma started his career with Tottenham Hotspur, joining them as a 16-year-old, but failed to make an appearance for the first team in his six years there. A loan spell with Burton in the 2009-2010 campaign was agreed to help him increase his chances at Spurs, but instead it resulted in a permanent deal with the Brewers after 38 impressive performances and four goals.
He would make a total of 172 appearances for the League Two side before joining Wednesday, but failed to hit the heights of Burton in his 66 games for the Championship outfit.
This season, he is hoping for Rowett to "carry on the good work" and to himself "bring something to the table" in the squad, to "help this great club achieve good things."