Radhi Jaidi last night agreed a three-year deal with Birmingham City to become Steve Bruce's seventh new addition this summer.

Jaidi's contract, which also has a one-year option, is subject to Birmingham gaining international clearance but t hat will be a routine procedure.

The Tunisia international has sailed through his medical and will costa fee up to #2 million. He is likely to go straight into the reckoning for Saturday's opening Coca-Cola Championship fixture with Colchester United.

It is another coup for Steve Bruce and the second player he has prised from Bolton Wanderers this month after the acquisition of Bruno N'Gotty.

"It is a great signing for us, as Radhi is a vastly experienced centre-half," said Bruce. "He has got two seasons' worth of experience of English f ootball and performed extremely well at the highest level.

"With Matthew Upson's injury, it gives us more cover in that position and will strengthen our squad for the campaign ahead.

"We are absolutely delighted to have secured his services for three years and we are still looking to add more players to our squad as well."

Jaidi will certainly add experience and presence to Birmingham's back line.

Standing 6ft 3in, he and N'Gotty provided the back-bone for Bolton's miserly defence during the last two seasons.

The 30-year-old played 52 times for Bolton as they finished sixth, eighth and qualified for the Uefa Cup. Eight goals also proved his potency at set-pieces and he will provide Bruce with an embarrassment of riches in central defence once Upson is fit.

Jaidi appeared for Tunisia in this summer's World Cup finals and scored a last-minute equaliser for the Africans in a 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia.

Eighty-eight caps is a measure of how highly he is rated in his home country and he will be in good company with his fellow Tunisian international Medhi Nafti.

Bruce now has the option of playing Jaidi, N'Gotty, Tebily, Martin Taylor or Alex Bruce in the central defensive positions with Upson up his sleeve.

The prospect of Jaidi and N'Gotty lining up together at St Andrew's is a daunting one for Championship strikers. Bruce still has money to spend following the sale of Jermaine Pennant and his search for a striker is unrelenting.

However, it looks as though his attempt to prise Gary McSheffrey away from Coventry City is destined to meet with failure.

Birmingham made a third bid for the talented striker on Friday and were handed an unequivocal 'hands-off' message from Sky Blues' managing director Paul Fletcher.

"The club's stance remains the same - we are not interested in selling Gary McSheffrey," said Fletcher bluntly.

"We've told Birmingham often enough and we just wish they would get on with their season and let us get on with ours.

"I've spoken to the chairman and he will be contacting Birmingham to tell them of our decision."

The bid for McSheffrey was not disclosed but it is under-stood to be somewhere in the region of #3.5 million.

Nevertheless, Bruce has other irons in the fire and he will move on to his next target, which is likely to be Brian McBride.

Bruce has admitted to making an inquiry regarding the American, but insisted no bid has yet been tabled.

The Fulham striker has an impressive pedigree, having scored 19 goals in 54 Premier-ship starts for the Londoners.

He has also bagged 30 goals from 91 international appearances and would provide Blues with a different option.

With Chris Sutton also being monitored, it is clear Bruce still wants to recruit an authentic target-man before the transfer window closes at the end of this month.

It is an absolute certainty that Bruce won't enter the new campaign with just three strikers on his books after his experiences of last season.

At present, he has Mikael Forssell, DJ Campbell and Cameron Jerome with the option of David Dunn playing just behind a lone striker.

So he will be looking to make more additions, with some reports linking Blues to a move for Manchester City's Antoine Sibierski.