It’s been a testing summer so far for Garry Monk and Birmingham City, with a transfer embargo causing havoc at St Andrew’s ahead of the new Sky Bet Championship season.  

The Blues have reportedly been placed under an embargo, which is hanging over the club as the Championship season edges closer.

Last year, Monk guided Birmingham to safety by the narrowest of margins, with it expected that the ex-Leeds and Middlesbrough boss would oversee big changes this summer.

Amongst those changes, David Stockdale was set to depart St Andrew’s, as Monk reshaped his squad.

That reshape hasn’t happened yet, and neither has Stockdale’s exit, with the 32-year-old goalkeeper still on Birmingham’s books at this stage of the summer.

There hasn’t been a huge amount of interest in Stockdale, but Leeds United did see an offer rejected, which is something Birmingham could well live to regret as a difficult summer ticks on.

Leeds’ offer to take Stockdale on-loan was slightly below the belt, but had Birmingham taken it, a highly paid player deemed surplus to requirements would be off the books, albeit temporarily.

Of course, Stockdale could attract more interest at a latter stage of the summer, but if he is still a Birmingham player at the end of the transfer window, Monk will face a big decision.

It’s been clear for some time that Stockdale can move on, but Monk could well be forced to offer the goalkeeper a lifeline due to the club’s transfer embargo.

That wouldn’t be the end of the world for Birmingham, with Stockdale an experienced goalkeeper, who has promotion already on his CV.

However, there has to be questions asked of the relationship between Monk and Stockdale.

In a summer when Birmingham have to be shrewd, they could well live to regret rejecting Leeds’ approach for Stockdale.