These are testing times for Birmingham City, who have a massive Championship season on the horizon under new manager Harry Redknapp.

The Blues appointed the former Pompey manager on a permanent basis after he led them to safety on a dramatic final day and with a full summer and pre-season schedule to look forward to, there's hope this campaign will be a whole lot more successful than the last.

But without a shadow of a doubt, this is a Birmingham City squad that needs improving over the coming weeks and months.

And one man we at the FLW think would do a superb job down at St Andrews is Aston Villa man Gary Gardner, who has been on the fringes of the Villa first-team for a few years now.

Brother of Blues favourite Craig, Gary is a centre-midfielder with a terrific long-range strike under his belt who works hard in the middle-of-the-park too.

Of course, there's that Aston Villa/Birmingham City divide that will have to be crossed if he does make the move but there's absolutely no doubting he's a quality player who is too good to sit on the bench week-after-week.

Rated at £1.7million by Transfermarkt, Gardner is a reasonably priced option for Blues to consider, especially considering money isn't going to be readily available like it is on the other side of the city these days.

But pinching a player of his quality from their bitter rivals would represent a real coup for both Redknapp and the Blues faithful.

Blues fans - Would you warrant making a move for Villa midfielder Gardner? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!