£250K-Rated Star To Leave Birmingham City As Club…

Birmingham City is reportedly preparing to sell central defender Kevin Long to a foreign club after a strong week of results.

The Republic of Ireland defender joined St. Andrew’s just over a year ago, following a 13-year stint with the Clarets at Turf Moor. Long, on the other hand, played an important role in John Eustace’s defensive as the team remained in England’s second tier last season.

Ireland 2-1 Bulgaria – Ireland retake the lead with Kevin Long scoring his first ever senior international goal. #rtesoccer #irlbul pic.twitter.com/SphWcCUV77

— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) September 10, 2019

Nonetheless, the centre-back has seen very little game time this season after falling out of favour under former manager Wayne Rooney, which was exacerbated by a calf injury he acquired in November. Meanwhile, Tony Mowbray reintroduced the seasoned defender into the starting lineup, but he hasn’t played since the team’s 2-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month.

Birmingham City have won back-to-back Championship games in the last five days, giving Mowbray the upper hand over his previous clubs Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland. Long did not make the team for either game.

According to Birmingham Live, the Blues are nearing completion of Long’s sale to MLS club Toronto FC. According to the site, a deal will be concluded sometime next week.

The former Accrington Stanley and Barnsley loanee’s contract with the West Midlands club expires at the end of the 2023/24 season, but because the MLS transfer market is open until April, the trade can be completed as soon as feasible.

Birmingham’s defender is presently valued at £250,000 on Transfermarkt, but it’s unclear how much they could get for him.

This transaction makes sense for Birmingham City. Long’s contract will expire at the end of the season, so the team would be wise to sell him now before the veteran goes for free in four months.

However, the Blues will have lost a player who provides adequate defensive cover, which is the sole disadvantage of his sale, especially now that the English transfer window has closed and Mowbray will be unable to replace him until he registers as a free agent.