Birmingham City confirm release of former Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley and Brighton midfielder

The seasoned midfielder has had two loan spells in Yorkshire, the first of which was at Wednesday in 2014. He returned to South Yorkshire three years later, linking up with Barnsley and making 30 appearances for the Reds.

He is set to become available as a free agent, as Birmingham have confirmed he will not be penning fresh terms at St Andrew’s. His departure will end a six-year association with theBblues, one that began when he made the move across the city from bitter rivals Aston Villa.

Gardner has been released alongside four other senior players, including former Sheffield United loanee Scott Hogan.

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In a statement, Birmingham said: “The club thanks each player for their efforts during their time at Blues and wishes them every success in their future career moves.”

Gardner’s time at St Andrew’s did not end on a high, instead ending with the Blues slipping out of the Championship on the final day of the regular season. They followed Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town into League One, while Sheffield Wednesday avoided the drop.

The midfielder is the younger brother of Craig, his former teammate at Birmingham and Aston Villa. Supporters of Wednesday will be familiar with Craig, as he worked as a coach for the Owls during the ill-fated reign of Tony Pulis in S6.