Birmingham City to sign ex-West Brom star in 'next 24 hours' after breakthrough in talks

Blues are reportedly closing in on the acquisition of Bristol City midfielder Taylor Gardner-Hickman after a breakthrough in negotiations.

Chris Davies is set to land his 12th signing of the summer, bringing in the West Bromwich Albion academy product, who can play in central midfield or at right-back.

The Mirror reports Gardner-Hickman will be a Birmingham player within the next 24 hours as Bristol have agreed to cash in. The Robins used the 22-year-old 36 times in the Sky Bet Championship last season but have decided to sell in favour of bringing in Oxford United’s Marcus McGuane.

Gardner-Hickman, likely to be of great use due to his versatility, has the potential to be a key player for Birmingham. The former England Under-20 international was well regarded at West Brom and was only sold as he wanted guaranteed game time, something the Baggies couldn’t guarantee.

Carlos Corberan always spoke very highly of Gardner-Hickman but ultimately decided to utilise more experienced alternatives. The player got his wish for better minutes last term as he was a regular for Bristol. He should now become a regular for Blues, though the competition will be fierce for a midfield spot.

When Gardner-Hickman puts pen to paper, he’ll become Birmingham’s dozenth signing of the summer. Under Davies’ stewardship, Blues have already signed Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Ryan Allsop, Alex Cochrane, Christoph Klarer, Emil Hansson, Willum Willumsson, Alfie May, Marc Leonard, Luke Harris, Alfons Sampsted and Ayumu Yokoyama.