Birmingham City told to swerve Nathan Redmond transfer action | OneFootball

Redmond is searching for a new club following his Clarets release - Blues have been urged not to make a move

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Birmingham City have been told to avoid a romantic reunion with out-of-contract Burnley winger Nathan Redmond this summer, due to his lack of playing-time in recent seasons and potential high wage demands that might be better spent elsewhere.

Blues broke numerous records as they confirmed themselves as League One champions in record time last month, and they are well-fancied to impress in the Championship next season under the guidance of highly-rated head-coach Chris Davies.

They stopped at nothing to give themselves the best chance of bouncing straight back up to the second-tier last summer, and their total transfer outlay was claimed to be a record spend in a single window at the level.

Another summer of high-profile additions could well be on the horizon as they eye further success in the Championship, but Birmingham's wealthy US backers have been told not to pursue a deal for former player Redmond in the coming months.

Blues fan pundit issues Nathan Redmond 'not for me' verdict following Burnley contract decision

Birmingham have become a seriously ambitious club under the guidance of Tom Wagner, and the ease at which they dominated in the third-tier is a clear sign that they plan on being competitive at the top end of the Championship next term.

Redmond, who was born and raised in the Second City, joined Blues at eight-years-old and worked his way up their youth ranks to make his first-team debut aged just 16 in August 2010.

The pacey winger went on to feature 82 times in three seasons for his boyhood club, registering nine goals and 11 assists before he joined Premier League outfit Norwich City in July 2013 for an initial £2 million fee.

Redmond has gone on to play regularly in the top-flight and earn one cap for the England national team, while he made the move to Burnley from Turkish giants Besiktas in 2023.

He has struggled to make an impact at Turf Moor over the last two years due to injury issues and other players' good form, though, and the Clarets announced earlier this week that he is set to depart at the end of his contract next month following their promotion to the Premier League.

He needs to settle somewhere soon after a tough time in East Lancashire, and a return to St Andrews will surely appeal to him as he nears the latter stages of his career.

With that said, FLW's Birmingham fan pundit, Jason Moore, does not want to see his club bring the 31-year-old in on a free transfer soon, as, despite the romance of a potential move, he has barely played in recent seasons and would likely demand a wage that would eclipse all other players in Blues' current squad.

“Regarding Nathan Redmond, as much as the romantic story would be great, him coming back to where he learnt his trade, being a Brummie boy and coming back to the club he supports and all that stuff…not for me," Jason told FLW.

“He’s the wrong side of 30, he’s not played much football in the last couple of seasons, and, to be honest, I just think there is better out there.

“For the wages he is probably going to be after as well, yeah, not for me.

“I’d much rather put that money towards (Kwame) Poku or someone else from abroad, and like I have said previously, I trust the transfer recruitment.”

Birmingham have been linked with Redmond but it would be a surprise to see him return soon

Redmond's talents on the wing have been made clear over the years throughout his career. He was once a highly-rated young talent at Blues, and he became a solid Premier League winger in his time at Southampton while also earning multiple call-ups to Gareth Southgate's senior England squads.

His time at Turf Moor has been hampered by injury and form issues, and a summer exit looked very likely in January as he neared the end of his contract. Birmingham were reported to be lining up a move for him by Football Insider prior to the winter window, yet a move never materialised due to those pre-existing injury struggles.

A few months later and he is now confirmed to be leaving the Clarets after a couple of tough years, but it seems unlikely that Blues will make a move for his services despite that previous interest.

Redmond has been earning an estimated £35,000 weekly wage at Burnley, and is unlikely to want to take much of a wage cut regardless of which club he joins ahead of the new season. That sort of money would surely make him the highest earner by some way at St Andrews, which seems like a big gamble to take given his recent troubles.

Chris Davies is set to be in the market for wingers, given his lack of depth on either side of attack, but Blues' transfer approach over the last few windows has been to invest in young talent from abroad rather than look to sign aging domestic players on free deals.

It seems unlikely that Redmond will make the move back to his boyhood club soon, yet not implausible, given their ambition to compete at the right end of the Championship table next season. If he does join, it would surely be after a trial spell in which he has proven his fitness and quality to boss Davies in order to convince him that he is ready to make an impact.