Reda Khadra makes Birmingham City admission as he justifies Sheffield United transfer decision | OneFootball

Birmingham City recruit, Reda Khadra, is looking to play more football after the Brighton and Hove Albion winger’s loan move to St Andrew’s was confirmed earlier in the day.

Khadra had spent the first-half of the season on loan with Sheffield United, yet had struggled to fit into Paul Heckingbottom’s side as they chase automatic promotion back to the Premier League.

The 21-year-old started only four games and contributed one goal in his 15 appearances in the Championship, totalling 381 minutes.

Now his move to Birmingham for the remainder of the season has been confirmed, along with a contract extension at Brighton, Khadra is eyeing extended minutes.

“When I got the call that Birmingham wanted me, I was excited to go somewhere and get some minutes and play more. I am really looking forward to playing for Birmingham,” Khadra said, as quoted by BluesTV.

“I hope I can get on the pitch quickly and start to play.”

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Khadra links up with a Birmingham side sitting 17th in the Championship table under John Eustace. Despite that relatively low position, Blues are only seven points adrift of the play-off picture at this early stage of 2023.

Sheffield United’s situation post-Khadra is far rosier, however, with Heckingbottom’s side second in the table and trailing only Burnley in the race for the Premier League.

The Verdict

It’s not really a surprise that Khadra is keen to get playing more with Birmingham.

Sheffield United looked like it would be a really good fit for him in the summer, offering Heckingbottom some genuine pace in attack, even if he would be a square peg in a round hole sometimes.

Ultimately, the Blades’ success in the Championship so far led to Khadra not playing nearly as much as he would’ve liked and he’s justifying his move here by saying he simply wants to feature more.

Thoughts? Let us know!