Birmingham City boss Lee Bowyer admits he held talks with Steve Bruce regarding a switch to Premier League strugglers Newcastle United for Kristian Pedersen, speaking to the Birmingham Mail.
Has the ship sailed for the 27-year-old left-back?
When Newcastle expressed their interest over the summer, Steve Bruce was still at the helm, Mike Ashley was still pulling the strings and a Saudi Arabian takeover felt like little more than a pipe dream.
Flash forward to the present day and, with the January transfer window just a few weeks away, the so-called ‘richest football club on the planet’ would make King Croesus look poverty-stricken by comparison.
And, in truth, Newcastle have probably moved beyond Pedersen with bigger, more high-profile names on their transfer hitlist these days.
Could Kristian Pedersen still join Newcastle?
“Kristian’s contract runs out in the summer. From my understanding, we have made him offers,” explained Bowyer, the one-time Newcastle midfielder.
“His agent is saying that he doesn’t want to sign anything at the moment. That’s his prerogative, his choice, no-one can make him,”
“I’ve read somewhere there was interest from Newcastle in the summer. I had a phone call from Steve Bruce – that was as far as it went.
“I think that hurt him in the summer because maybe he thought he might get a Premiership move but now he just has to crack on and do his job.”
Pedersen admitted earlier in the season that Bruce, who has since been replaced by Eddie Howe, ‘really wanted me’ at St James’ Park, adding that a summer switch to Tyneside would have been a ‘good opportunity’ for the once-capped Denmark international.
Whether Newcastle return for Pedersen in January remains to be seen.
A new left-back is certainly required, though the newly-moneyed Magpies appear to have their sights set on something shinier, like PSG’s Abdou Diallo, for example.
Interestingly, Birmingham City are seemingly prepared for life without Pedersen with a replacement identified from the Eredivisie.
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