Lee Bowyer claims transfer 'help' as Birmingham City's 'wild card' set for debut

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Lee Bowyer hopes his relationship with Lyle Taylor could work in Birmingham City’s favour if the club decide to pursue a summer move for the Nottingham Forest striker.

The 31-year-old is a doubt for Blues’ trip to Bristol City this weekend having pulled out in the warm-up to last Saturday’s match.

Taylor is in his second stint working under Bowyer and flourished in his first at Charlton Athletic.

Under Bowyer the Montserrat international scored 38 times in two years and earned a big-money move to the City Ground.

He is reunited with Bowyer at Blues and he scored three goals and made two others in his first five games before the club’s injury curse struck in the warm-up against Huddersfield.

Indeed Taylor’s performances have sparked a debate about whether it is worth trying to bring back a player who will be 32 later this month.

That is a discussion for the end of the season - but while Bowyer is conscious of the fact the success of loan players like Taylor and Onel Hernandez could work against Blues - there’s more to it in the former’s case.

“We have to be careful not make them do too well because everyone else will want to take them,” Bowyer quipped. “Others will be like ‘OK, this is what you can do then’.

“As well as they are doing for us, we are improving them and making them better players that then opens the door for other people who might say ‘OK I am going to give you more money come to me’.

“Knowing Lyle, I have a good relationship with him and he likes working under me so that could help. Again that’s a thing between two clubs, they might want to keep him now Forest and think ‘He’s a good striker’.”