Birmingham City announce former Hull City and Spurs midfielder as Ashley Cole replacement

Birmingham City have added former Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone to their coaching staff.

Blues saw Ashley Cole depart the club at the weekend, as he took up a full-time role with the English FA. Jonathan Grounds had stepped up in his absence, but now Birmingham have found a permanent replacement. 

The 37-year-old will assume the role as Men's First Team Assistant Coach. Huddlestone was only appointed as a coach at their League One rivals Wigan Athletic in January, and in August, he joined the coaching staff of the England under-21s squad under Ben Futcher

“Tom is an excellent coach and a great addition to our First Team Staff as we look to build on our start to the 2024/25 season,” said first-team manager Chris Davies to the official club website.

“He has vast playing experience, which has been added to by coaching roles he has held with both club and international teams. 

This will provide a different dynamic to the group and I expect the squad to feed off his knowledge of the game.

“We are all looking forward to working with him and wish him every success at Birmingham City.”

For the past two seasons, Huddlestone had been working as a player-coach at Man United. He would play for their under-21s team, picking up the role from his former Hull City teammate Paul McShane. 

Huddlestone retired from professional football earlier this summer. His playing career lasted 22 years, having played for Derby County, mainly Spurs, and also Wolves, Hull City, and Derby County. 

The four-time England international possesses the UEFA A Licence, which is the second highest qualification a coach can have. A UEFA A Licence holder can be head head coaches of youth teams up to age 18, reserve teams (also known as 'B' teams) for top-flight clubs, and men's professional second-tier teams.