DAVID Dunn is set to become the latest player to benefit from Sam Allardyce's famous career-reviving talents.

The Birmingham midfielder is on the verge of joining what Big Sam jokingly referred to yesterday as his "Misfits" after Blues' boss, Steve Bruce, said it was in the best interests of all concerned that he leave St Andrew's for pastures new.

Since moving to Birmingham from Blackburn in a £5.5 million deal in July 2003, Dunn has started only 53 games in three and a half seasons, suffering a succession of hamstring injuries that led to him needing career-saving spinal surgery in March 2005.

A single England cap - he was substitute against Portugal in 2003 - came at a time when his natural talent made the Blackburn-born 27-year-old one of the most exciting players in the game, a player Allardyce is convinced can add a new dimension to his midfield.

All Dunn has to do now is convince the Reebok medical men that he is finally over the injury problems that have caused him so much frustration and anguish in recent years.

Allardyce, who has built a reputation for catching fallen stars and giving them a new lease of life, is confident that a fit-again Dunn will be mentally stronger and more determined than ever to make his mark in the Premiership.

"We've only had a brief conversation," the Wanderers boss said, "but he is very determined to prove he is okay and the best way for him to do that is to play football in the Premiership and get back to doing what we know he can do.

"He is ambitious and, like most players who suffer career-threatening injuries, he has had a life-changing experience. Often when that happens, you come out at the other end not only a better footballer but a better person for it.

"You don't ever take it for granted because at any moment you know your career could be finished, for whatever reason."

The irony is that it is Dunn's medical record that has finally put him in Wanderers' price bracket.

There is something typically Allardyce about signing a £5.5m player for what he describes as a "reasonable" fee, which is believed to be appearance based - an initial £750,000 with a further £500,000 when he has played 25 and 50 games.

Dunn had expressed an interest in re-joining Blackburn, while Manchester City were reported to be interested. In fact the deal was all-but agreed by the time news leaked out yesterday that he was talking to Wanderers.

"He wouldn't be here if he hadn't had his injuries," Allardyce said. "He was that good a player.

"We couldn't have found £5.5m when he moved from Blackburn to Birmingham. In fact, £0.5m was about the maximum we had at that time.

"But he's a terrific player, if he stays fit, and he's a good age."