Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish has described FIFA's transfer windows system as "horrendous".

He said: "I think the January window is horrendous and bad for football because it is pushing prices up. People can hold guns to your head in terms of prices nowadays.

"It is a restriction on free trade. I believe it is bad for football. It should go back to like it was before, until the end of March when you had the transfer dead-line.

"I certainly feel when teams are scrambling to avoid relegation, and the price to stay up is so astronomical, that one or two teams will push the boat out - and there is no guarantee whoever you bring in that you can keep your head above water.

"Someday, some team is going to get stung spending £20-£30 million in the January window - unless it is Manchester United."