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Birmingham City should secure January deal for Championship star who wants transfer
The emergence of Taylor Gardner-Hickman as an important utility player has been one of the many contributing factors to Birmingham City’s strong start to the League One season.
Telford lad Gardner-Hickman, who made his name with neighbours West Bromwich Albion, was signed on loan from Bristol City to bolster Chris Davies’ midfield options following the departure of Jordan James. Given the strength of Blues’ engine room, with Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata forcing the talented Marc Leonard into a watching brief, many wondered how regularly Gardner-Hickman would feature in early September.
But Gardner-Hickman has already made 16 appearances for Blues, starting 12 times. A two-month lay-off to Ethan Laird and an international jaunt followed by food poisoning for back-up right-back Alfons Sampsted back in September opened the door to Gardner-Hickman and he grasped his opportunity with both hands to earn the trust of Davies.
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Davies noted: “He’s disciplined, if you give him a job he will do it perfectly, and he works really hard.”
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Davies likes coachable brains and Gardner-Hickman clearly has one. Not only has he performed well in two positions, the 22-year-old has played the right-back role in two different ways.
He has played high and wide, which suits the system and is how Laird performs the role, but he has occasionally drifted into midfield to give Blues an extra body in the position he knows best.
Such is Gardner-Hickman’s versatility, he needn’t have worried about falling by the wayside in Blues’ super-strong third tier squad. Even since Laird's return to fitness, Gardner-Hickman has been adding to his minutes due to his ability to excel in different roles.
Every squad needs a player like Gardner-Hickman and, like many of those Blues acquired in the summer, he is someone capable of growing with the club. Gardner-Hickman already has 95 Championship appearances under his belt and, based on the evidence in front of us, his century should come in Blues’ colours.
Blues have an option to sign Gardner-Hickman from Bristol City permanently and he has already said his goodbyes to his parent club. Posting a message to Robins fans after sealing his switch to St Andrew’s in August, Gardner-Hickman said: “It has been a pleasure and an honour to have played for this amazing club, with even better people inside. Thank you to everyone who made me feel so welcomed at this football club and the staff, players and fans who has helped me during my time. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to play and create memories in front of you robins and for this Club. I wish everyone at Bristol City all the best for the future. Thank you Robins.”
That seems quite final and Gardner-Hickman has done nothing to suggest Blues shouldn’t take up their option. He has already admitted that he wants a permanent St Andrew's stay. Speaking on Tuesday, after Blues beat Exeter City in the Vertu Trophy, Gardner-Hickman said: “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!"
They could even do it in January to remove an element of uncertainty going into the end-of-season run in.
