Birmingham City may be watching Gillingham closely in final weeks of season: View | OneFootball

Birmingham City have just four games to maintain their Championship status in what has been a turbulent campaign at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

Gary Rowett's side failed to improve on their impressive home display against Preston North End over the Easter weekend, losing back-to-back games against Leicester City and Cardiff City which leaves them in the relegation zone.

A source of goals for Blues has been one of several problems encountered during the course of the season, with Fulham loanee Jay Stansfield the only player within Birmingham's ranks to hit double figures in all competitions this season.

With the likes of Lukas Jutkiewicz, Siriki Dembele and Scott Hogan struggling to find the back of the net this term, there may be some regret within the West Midlands club's hierarchy that they allowed a young striker to complete a permanent switch to Gillingham in January.

Josh Andrews' Birmingham City career

Having risen through the academy ranks at Birmingham since the age of eight, Andrews was offered professional terms at the club in April 2020, signing a two-year contract with the option of a third with the West Midlands outfit.

The following season, he would score seven goals in four matches for Birmingham's U23's side and, by the 2021 January transfer window, had added two more to his tally along with four assists in 11 appearances.

Andrews would earn his first professional loan move to Harrogate Town, linking up with team-mate Mitchell Roberts who had made the move a few weeks earlier, but would return to B9 after picking up an injury.

Upon his return, he would help the U23's side win the Professional Development League title, with his introduction into the action described as a main reason for Blues' success in the semi-final against Bristol City, featuring as a substitute in the final against Sheffield United.

Another loan move would transpire ahead of the 2021/22 season, going back to League Two with Rochdale, scoring his first goal in his second appearance against Northampton Town to earn The Dale their first win of the season.

Injury again interrupted his progress with a hamstring problem keeping him out for several weeks, but he would score four times in 12 appearances before returning to Birmingham with another injury.

In April 2022, Blues took up their option to extend Andrews' contract for a further year, and would subsequently join Doncaster Rovers on loan until January, but after five appearances without scoring, Andrews returned to St. Andrew's for treatment for tendonitis in his knee.

The striker would join Accrington Stanley on loan at the start of this season before being recalled to complete a permanent switch to Gillingham to end his 15-year stay with Birmingham, having failed to make an appearance for the first team.

Ahead of his departure from the West Midlands, Andrews had equipped well to a division he knows well from his previous loan spells.

During his time at the Wham Stadium, the striker managed six goals in 22 appearances for the Lancashire club, starting in all but one of their fixtures, with his physicality and size lending itself to the style of play within the fourth division of English football.

But in what has been an injury-hit stage of his early career, a hip injury sustained with Accrington halted his progress this term, but nonetheless did not deter Gillingham from securing his services given his record earlier in the season.

Having scored for the Gills' B team last month, a minor setback in his rehabilitation occurred but has since been reintroduced into the action from the bench, making his debut for his new club in a win over Morecambe at the end of March.

He has since only made appearances as a substitute, but Blues will be watching closely how he gets on for Gillingham's final three games of the season, with Stephen Clemence's side having an outside chance of reaching the play-off places.