Birmingham City have welcomed Craig Gardner to St Andrew's after confirming that the midfielder has completed a £3 million move from local rivals Aston Villa.
Gardner, 23, has signed a four-and-a-half year deal with Birmingham and becomes Alex McLeish's second signing of the January transfer window after the arrival of fellow midfielder Michel from Sporting Gijon.
After emerging from the Villa academy, Gardner went on to make 79 appearances for the club but featured only once in the Premier League under Martin O'Neill this season.
"I'm over the moon, especially being at the club I supported as a boy," Gardner told the club's official website. "I just can't wait to get out there, put the shirt on and do well for the club.
"I have not slept properly for the last three or four days waiting for the deal to be done. Now it's done, it's unbelievable."
Gardner is not eligible to make his debut in Wednesday's game at Chelsea as he was not registered in time with the Premier League.
Kevin Hughes spent the best part of ten years working and writing for the football magazine Match; once (sort of) inspiring David Beckham to copy his shaved-hair look, getting lost in Paris after the 1998 France v Croatia World Cup semi-final and other such nonsense. As Deputy Editor, he launched and established Sport, the London-based free weekly magazine, before moving on to become a consumer magazine publisher, a position he holds today. Introduced to Villa by his father and grandfather, he attended his first ever match at Villa Park as a seven-year-old in 1982… and has suffered almost constant disappointment since. You can follow him on twitter @KevHughesie
Kevin Hughes spent the best part of ten years working and writing for the football magazine Match; once (sort of) inspiring David Beckham to copy his shaved-hair look, getting lost in Paris after the 1998 France v Croatia World Cup semi-final and other such nonsense. As Deputy Editor, he launched and established Sport, the London-based free weekly magazine, before moving on to become a consumer magazine publisher, a position he holds today. Introduced to Villa by his father and grandfather, he attended his first ever match at Villa Park as a seven-year-old in 1982… and has suffered almost constant disappointment since. You can follow him on twitter @KevHughesie
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