Former West Brom Premier League man to depart Championship rivals

Former Albion Premier League midfielder Craig Gardner is reportedly set to depart Blues after five years in prominent off-field roles.

It has been claimed that the 39-year-old, who has been vital in Blues’ transfer recruitment in recent years, will leave St Andrew’s where he was in the role of director of football.

Gardner spent three season at The Hawthorns, two as a regular in the Baggies midfield in the top flight.

In all he scored six times in 86 Albion appearances.

Some of his third term was spent on loan at Blues in the Championship, where he returned permanently in 2017 and hung up his boot after a player-coach role in 2020.

Gardner briefly reunited with former Albion boss Tony Pulis at Sheffield Wednesday in 2020 but the spell lasted just a month and he returned to Blues in 2021, and was appointed technical director in June 2021.

The former Villa academy graduate, who also played top flight football for Sunderland, spent four years in that role before a switch to director of football last year following the club’s return to the second tier after League One promotion.

Gardner has been a key player in transfer recruitment for Blues since holding his off-field roles.

He was also credited for playing a key role in Knighthead’s takeover of the club in July 2023, after which the ambitious American ownership increased the recruitment team around Gardner.

Reports of his departure are yet to be confirmed.