Aston Villa’s Gary Gardner has arrived at Birmingham City for a medical ahead of a shock loan move according to a report from the Birmingham Mail.
The 26-year-old midfielder, who was capped five times by the England U21s, has always struggled to find a first-team spot at Aston Villa. While he has had more chances since their relegation, most of his experience has come at loan spells at teams such as Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Hove Albion and Coventry City. Most recently he was on loan at Barnsley but was unable to stop them from being relegated from the Sky Bet Championship.
It was no surprise to Villa fans today to find out that Gardner was set to be shipped out on loan again. But it was a surprise to find out who he was going out on loan to. It is their fierce Second City rivals Birmingham looking to snap him up. Despite being placed under a transfer embargo earlier in the summer, the Blues are being allowed to sign players on frees and loans as long as they show the EFL there is a real attempt to cut the budget.
And now it appears that they will be completing this move for Gardner, making him one of the few players to cross the divide directly. This report says that the midfielder is now at Birmingham undergoing a medical and should that go without any serious problems, the deal should be completed later today to complete one of the more shocking moves of the day.