Grant Hanley has hinted that he would like to remain at Birmingham City beyond the end of the 2024-25 season, despite receiving little game-time since his January move from Norwich City.
The experienced Scotland international had slipped down the pecking order at Carrow Road under Johannes Hoff Thorup, and he was allowed to move on to St. Andrew’s midway through the most recent transfer window.
Whilst the 33-year-old has appeared 11 times in League One action for Blues, all but one of those outings has been off the bench, with a first start coming on Easter Monday in a 2-1 win over Burton Albion.
Grant Hanley drops hint on hopes of extended Birmingham City stint
The rock-solid partnership of Christoph Klarer and Ben Davies has been a struggle for Hanley to get in ahead of, and with Krystian Bielik also in reserve for head coach Chris Davies, it shows just how much strength in depth the League One champions have at their disposal.
Going into their Championship return next season, City are set to add Hannover defender Phil Neumann on a free transfer, whilst Davies is expected to be a permanent transfer target from Scottish giants Rangers, and with Bielik also contracted, it remains to be seen where Hanley potentially fits into that setup.
However, despite his lack of starts, Hanley has somewhat made it clear that he would be open to remaining at the club beyond June, which is when his current short-term contract expires.
“At the time it was more to go somewhere where I felt I could add value,” Hanley told BirminghamLive of his mid-season move to St. Andrew’s.
“I looked at it and knew it was going to be tough to get game time because of how the lads were playing and the calibre of players that are here.
“From speaking to the manager and knowing some of the lads, I knew the type of club it was and the ambition.
“I wanted to be involved in the second half of the season and past that, let’s see what happens.
“I’m at a stage in my career now where I can’t look too far ahead. It’s tomorrow’s training really, let’s get through that and then the next one.
“I feel like I can add value and I’ve got something to offer so let’s see.”
Grant Hanley could be a valuable Birmingham City player next season – if he accepts a lesser role
Hanley has been there, done it and worn the t-shirt, as evidenced by the fact he’s appeared over 400 times at club level, 79 times in the Premier League and plenty more times in the Championship.
With three promotions under his belt from England’s second tier, Hanley possesses the experience that could be required within Birmingham’s dressing room next season in order for them to make a real good go of back-to-back promotions, but you wouldn’t want to be relying on him to be a regular starter perhaps – and it wouldn’t be expected either.
Their strength in depth going into next season, even without Ben Davies, is incredibly strong, but if Hanley were to accept perhaps being a fourth-choice defender in Chris Davies’ system, then it could be worth him sticking around.
Of course, Hanley could go elsewhere and gain regular minutes, as someone, somewhere would want such an experienced centre-half for their squad, but he has seemingly opened himself up to remaining at Blues – now it’s up for the club to decide what to do.
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