Birmingham City have completed the signing of Marc Roberts, who has made no secret of his ambition to return the club to the Premier League.
The Blues were last a top-flight club in 2011, when they suffered the drop by just a single points and only weeks after they beat Arsenal to lift the League Cup.
Having failed to mount a promotion bid since, they struggled against relegation last season until Harry Redknapp was appointed late on to lead them to survival.
The experienced manager has agreed to stay on at St Andrews next term, and he has managed to persuade Barnsley to part with their captain Roberts for an undisclosed fee.
The 26-year-old centre-half is the second signing of the summer for the Blues, who have also taken goalkeeper David Stockdale from Brighton & Hove Albion on a free transfer.
“I’m happy to be at such a big club,” Roberts told BluesTV. “When a manager like Harry Redknapp comes along and asks for your signature you’ve got to take it seriously.
“There are some really good players here and from my point of view I want to help the football club get promoted. That’s the end aim. I’m addicted to winning and it can only be a good trait.”
Meanwhile, Scottish midfield player Andrew Shinnie, who spent last season on loan at Hibernian, has joined Luton Town where he is set to stay for the duration of the coming campaign.
As for Barnsley, they hope to have made some ground in replacing Roberts in their defence with the signing of Ethan Pinnock, who joins from Forest Green Rovers on a three-year deal.
