"Hopefully" - Taylor Gardner-Hickman drops claim on his Birmingham City future | OneFootball

The on-loan midfielder has impressed during the first months of his time with Blues

Taylor Gardner-Hickman has spoken about his hopes of convincing Birmingham City into striking a permanent agreement with Bristol City.

This came after Birmingham's progression into the Round of 16 of the EFL Trophy after a 2-1 away victory over Exeter City on Tuesday night, with the 22-year-old revealing his ambitions for the remainder of the season to Birmingham Live.

Having arrived on loan from the Championship outfit as one of 18 permanent or temporary additions throughout Chris Davies' first transfer window at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, the versatile midfielder has produced an array of consistent performances, which have made an instant impression on Blues supporters.

Taylor Gardner-Hickman hopes to convince Birmingham City into making key decision

Speaking post-match at St James' Park, Gardner-Hickman spoke about how he hopes the club will continue to take note of his performances in matches and on the training ground, as well as referencing how important it has been returning to the West Midlands following his prior development with West Bromwich Albion.

When talking about his short-term future in B9, the midfielder stated : “I’m a Blues player for now and hopefully I show enough on the pitch and around the training ground to make them want to keep me on! We’ll see what happens.”

“Coming down from Bristol and being back home around family has made it easier for me to settle in. I settled in straight away and the boys have been absolutely class with me," he added.

Despite producing a number of strong performances, Gardner-Hickman's willingness to operate in a variety of positions in defence and midfield has seen him become an increasingly popular figure with the Bluenoses, having initially filled in at right-back due to an early-season setback for Ethan Laird.

He has since featured in his natural midfield role before reverting to left-back, due to Alex Cochrane's injury which was sustained in the 2-1 victory over Barnsley last weekend.

“I love playing in front of these fans,” Gardner-Hickman continued. “We have such a good away following. Credit to them for travelling three and a half, four hours, however long it was today. They showed up in their numbers and I feel like I’ve got a really good relationship with them.”

A permanent deal for Taylor Gardner-Hickman would be a huge benefit to Birmingham City

Although it remains to be seen whether a permanent deal can be struck with the Robins, it would be another positive step for Blues.

The initial loan signing aligned with the pre-season aims of assembling a squad able to challenge for an immediate return to the second tier, and it has been proven in his first 16 appearances that Gardner-Hickman has a potential ceiling way beyond League One.

Having started in 12 of those appearances in a variety of positions, it is clear that Davies values the versatile man extremely highly, and it is clear from his own comments that Gardner-Hickman has been extremely pleased with the move to B9 for a multitude of reasons.

However, due to his strong form and the fact his contract at Ashton Gate runs until the summer of 2027, it would be fair to assume that Liam Manning and the Bristol City hierarchy could look to drive a hard bargain.