Pep Guardiola has already given Birmingham City transfer...

In an attempt to support manager Chris Davies’ League One title challenge, Birmingham City has been linked to

completing a romantic re-signing of Nathan Redmond, a product of the Blues academy, during the January transfer

window. When Redmond joined Chris Hughton to Norwich City in the Premier League in 2013, he left the Blues.

Playing more than 270 Premier League games, mostly for Southampton, Redmond has gone on to have a very

successful career at the top table in England. He has also had some experience playing football in Turkey with

Besiktas in the Super Lig. Redmond joined Burnley, owned by Vincent Kompany, when they returned to the Premier

League in the summer of 2023, bringing him back to England.

Redmond has appeared in 15 Clarets games, although he has only made two starts in the EFL Cup last year.

Additionally, he hasn’t played since early January due to what Kompany called a “freak incident” during training.

“It’s really unlucky for him mostly, but also for us,” he stated at the time. Although it was an unusual occurrence, the

doctors have assured us that he will fully recover; however, surgery and the season are gone.

Redmond’s contract at Turf Moor expires in the summer, but the club, now managed by Scott Parker, has the option

to extend it by another year. It’s a potential transaction that has been characterised as an initial loan move should it come to be.

Redmond’s skills are obvious to Blues fans, who have seen him both up close and from a distance during his career.

However, it’s worth considering what Pep Guardiola, one of the most admired managers of the modern era, said of

Redmond one afternoon at Etihad Stadium while he was wearing a Saints shirt.

Raheem Sterling gave City a 2-1 victory in stoppage time, but Guardiola was disheartened by Southampton’s slow

play and Redmond’s contribution to the visitors’ collective strategy in 2017. Guardiola made headlines and raised

eyebrows when he took to the pitch after the game and started berating Redmond as he headed to the tunnel.

In Guardiola’s first season as manager, Redmond had performed brilliantly on the same pitch and opened the

scoring for the Saints as they fought to a 1-1 draw the previous season. The Catalan was reminding the former

England international that he was too brilliant to waste time, as he explained why he was critical of Redmond that

day and exactly what he told the winger.

At the time, Guardiola remarked, “I told him how good a player he is,” “He ruined us here last season. I discovered

how amazing he is even if I didn’t know him previous season. Redmond is one of Southampton’s most skilled

players, but they were wasting time starting in the ninth minute and didn’t want to play. All I wanted was for them to play.

Pep Guardiola has already given Birmingham City transfer thumbs up for Man City ‘destroyer