Tony Pulis has confirmed Birmingham City have made a move for Craig Gardner, although he may decide to block their approach.
The 30-year-old played for the Blues between January 2010 and the summer of 2011, having joined them from rivals Aston Villa in a £3.5million deal. He went on to make 52 appearances for the St Andrews’ club, before leaving upon their relegation.
Sunderland paid a fee in the region of £6million for Gardner, making a century of outings prior to leaving for West Bromwich Albion when his contract expired. He has played 85 times for the Baggies, including nine in the current campaign.
Hawthorns manager Pulis has now confirmed that Birmingham have made an approach to take Gardner back across the Midlands. And although negotiations continue, the 58-year-old is certainly in no rush to offload the Solihull-born player.
“Birmingham have come in for Gards,” he said. “Negotiations are underway. I’m not that keen on getting rid of Craig. He’s a great professional and he’s really good in the dressing room. That’s ongoing. We’ll see what happens there. We have to make sure that, if we do a deal, it has to be right for the club and for Craig.”
Gardner, who has started just two of his nine appearances for Albion this term, is under contract until 2018. He has found it difficult to force his way into Pulis’ first team of late due to their impressive form which sees them eighth in the league table.
