Aston Villa's promotion to the Premier League was not the end to the season that Blues fans wished for, and they have had to endure all manner of taunts since - particularly from Jack Grealish.

However, there could be one positive to come out of it, in the form of Gary Gardner, the Villa player who enjoyed a successful loan spell at Birmingham this season.

The out of favour midfielder is now even less likely to be in Dean Smith's plans, opening up the opportunity for clubs to make a move, and Birmingham should be in pole position.

The player enjoyed his time at St.Andrew's and is a Birmingham lad, so the only stumbling block could be his wages, which increased in line with a promotion bonus following the Villans' success at Wembley.

Birmingham endured a tumultuous season, finding themselves under a transfer ban in the summer before receiving a nine-point deduction for breaching the allowed limit on losses over a three-year period, which stands at £39 million.

Despite all that, Garry Monk did a splendid job. Birmingham managed a 15th place finish and would have improved by 15 points on last season but for the points deduction.

They also have stability, which has been missing since Gary Rowett was sacked. Rowett was on the verge of the playoffs when he was dismissed, and since then Birmingham have flirted with the relegation zone as a consequence of having three different managers in the space of 16 months.

Monk is an astute Championship manager, and he has already identified areas of improvement for Birmingham ahead of the next campaign.

Speaking to Birmingham Live, he said: “We need to add four or five, a similar amount to what we did last summer.

“Obviously with Connor (Mahoney) and Gary (Gardner) going back that’s two positions there straightaway that we need to fill."

Getting Gardner back would be a shrewd move by Monk. The all-round midfielder averaged 33 passes and two tackles per match this season according to whoscored and is exactly the type of determined player which will drive Birmingham forward.

It should be a busy summer ahead for the Blues, with Che Adams also reportedly linked with a number of clubs. If they receive a hefty bid for him the club is likely to accept, and whilst this would be a blow it could allow some reinvestment, and Monk would be very grateful for that.