Lee Bowyer is putting a squad together at Birmingham City that he hopes is capable of cracking the top half of the Championship in 2021-22 - and there's even more good news as he's managed to tie down one of his key assets.

It's been a positive summer for the Blues so far, with the additions of Juan Castillo, Ryan Woods, Jordan Graham and soon Dion Sanderson could be arriving at St. Andrews, so positive movements are happening off the pitch.

One current player who is sticking around for the foreseeable future is Gary Gardner, who is one former Aston Villa man that Blues fans have grown to love over the last few years.

The 29-year-old joined Birmingham on loan from Villa in 2018 before penning a permanent contract, and he's made 118 competitive appearances for the club in that time.

Gardner was a regular last season under Aitor Karanka and Bowyer and due to his performances, he has penned a new deal that runs until 2024.

He will compete with the likes of Woods and Ivan Sunjic for a starting spot in Bowyer's line-up and his new deal may have been helped by the fact that his older brother Craig is now the technical director at the club, meaning that the Gardner family association with Birmingham runs for a while longer.