James Beattie remains an employee of Birmingham City, although he appears to no longer be involved with the first-team.

The former England striker arrived at St. Andrew's as part of the backroom team under Garry Monk, so when the ex-Blues boss landed the managerial role at Sheffield Wednesday there was immediate speculation suggesting that he could be on the move to Yorkshire - something Monk did nothing to dampen with his initial comments on the matter.

However, nothing has materialised and reporter Brian Dick has given the latest on the situation on Birmingham Live this afternoon.

"I’m told that Beattie is still employed at the club in ‘another role’. I certainly have not seen him involved in the first team for several weeks.

"He’s obviously been linked with a move to Sheffield Wednesday and that might be a solution for all parties but as I understand it there has not been any formal approach."

The likes of Craig Gardner and Xavi Calm have been given more prominent roles in recent weeks as Pep Clotet looks for support without Beattie's involvement on matchdays.

[freshpress-poll ]

The verdict

From the outside it still seems a matter of time before Beattie ends up at Hillsborough and there must be a stand off between the clubs in terms of negotiating his release.

In the end though, it would benefit Blues to let Beattie go if he doesn't want to be here and the fact his role in the first-team appears to be reduced suggests he wants out.

So, it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming months.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.