Aston Villa will face Birmingham City in the Second City derby in the Championship this weekend.
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that Birmingham City made a request for them to utilise Gary Gardner in Sunday’s Championship game between the two rivals.
In August last year, the 26-year-old midfielder swapped Villa Park for St Andrew’s on a loan deal, linking up with brother Craig at the blue side of the city (Birmingham Mail).
Gardner has been instrumental for Garry Monk’s side this term, making 32 appearances in all competitions – 30 in the Championship – and contributing to three goals (Transfermarkt).
Going into Sunday’s clash at St Andrew’s, the Blues are ahead of Villa in the table but, with just two points between them, Smith’s charges could leapfrog their rivals with victory.
It had originally been agreed that Gardner would not play in the derby but, in his pre-match press conference, Smith made the revelation that the Blues had in fact put a request in writing to use him – and it was turned down.
“Yes, it came through to me,” Smith told the Birmingham Mail about the request. “We had an email from Birmingham City asking for permission. The terms of the contract when they were drawn up was that he couldn’t play. There was no reason to change that.
“I think you’re putting too much of a burden on the player himself. If he was to have a poor game for Birmingham then you will have their fans questioning him. If he scores the winner against Aston Villa then it’s not very good him coming back here! I think we can take the burden away from the player. That’s why it was in the contract.”
While Birmingham are just four points off the Championship playoff places, the Villans are six points behind sixth-placed Bristol City, making this not only a game about bragging rights but also a lot of importance in the race for promotion to the Premier League.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
