Birmingham City confirm player departure

Birmingham City’s transfer business has continued today with the news via their official website that Fran Villalba has joined Sporting Gijon.

The Blues are not in the best financial position and player sales could help fund transfers of their own this summer. With the 24-year-old struggling to make his mark at St Andrew’s then, it comes as little surprise that he will now be heading out the exit door at the club.

The midfielder spent last campaign on loan with the club that he has now joined permanently too, making 38 league appearances and bagging nine goal contributions along the way. Gijon liked what they saw it appears and have now moved quickly to turn the deal into a permanent one.

Prior to that, the 24-year-old had also spent time on loan at Almeria, where he produced a further five goals and five assists in 46 league games. For Birmingham though, he could only ever muster one goal in 17 Championship outings.

It led to him being shipped out on loan and now the player will depart permanently just three years after he originally made the move to the Blues.

It comes as not a shock to many, with Gijon having an agreement as part of the loan deal that they could snap the player up permanently if they so wished. The Spanish side have enjoyed having the player at the club and will now welcome him back on a full-time basis this summer.

Now, the Blues can use the freed up wages from the player and the extra squad space to perhaps try and add a fresh face of their own.

The Verdict

Fran Villalba and Birmingham will both probably benefit from this parting of ways during the offseason.

The 24-year-old wasn’t getting much action with the Blues and it didn’t look like he would get onto the field much down the line either, with