Birmingham City narrowly avoided relegation from the Championship last season, but optimism was renewed over the summer following news of Harry Redknapp’s contract extension.

The 70-year-old came in for their final three games of the campaign with the clear brief to try and keep the free-falling side in the second tier, and the former Tottenham boss did just that with two wins from his three matches in charge.

Their final day victory at Bristol City secured their Championship status, and Redknapp has since signed a new one-year deal at the club to lead them in the 2017/18 campaign.

Yet it is widely perceived that the former Portsmouth chief would not have done so without guarantees of financial backing in the summer transfer window, and the acquisitions of Marc Roberts and David Stockdale earlier on in the summer underlined that backing.

However, things have become increasingly frustrating for manager Redknapp, who recently admitted that their pursuit of midfielder Ravel Morrison is all but over.

24-year-old Morrison currently plays his trade at Lazio but has managed just eight appearances for the club since moving there in 2015, with a loan spell at Queens Park Rangers in the second half of last season emphasising his lowly position in the pecking order at the Italian giants.

And, after having spent a few weeks with Birmingham during pre-season, Redknapp made an offer to Lazio to loan in the Englishman, yet that was rebuffed by the Serie A side, and as such the 70-year-old reckons that their chase is ‘probably’ over.

And the Blues may well have missed a trick in failing to land the midfielder, as Morrison has produced his best season under Redknapp’s stewardship in the past, and undoubtedly has the talent to make a huge difference at Championship level.

It was back in 2013/14 when 70-year-old Redknapp, while in charge of QPR, took the 24-year-old on loan for the second half of the season, and in that time he had a big impact with six goals and two assists in 15 Championship matches for the club, helping them finish fourth in the table, and then achieve promotion via the play-offs.

So Redknapp clearly knows how to get the best out of him, and although things haven’t gone particularly well since that spell at Loftus Road, the Birmingham boss may well have been able to do so again at St Andrew’s.

And the Blues could ideally do with greater attacking reinforcements, as Che Adams looks set to miss a few weeks with a hamstring issue, while striker Lukas Jutkiewicz, last season’s top-scorer, has been sidelined for the start of the campaign.

So bringing in someone as creative as Morrison, who is good and confident on the ball, is willing to take defenders on and make them uncomfortable, and has a keen eye for goal, would have been invaluable.

Yet it’s a move which appears highly unlikely to happen.