Birmingham City: their plans & players; Hleb confirms he snubbed offers from Liverpool & Tottenham Part 1
The new surprisingly heavy signing by Birmingham City, Alexander Hleb has stated that he snubbed offers from top-notch clubs like Liverpool and Tottenham to join Blues.
The 29-year old player has joined Birmingham City from Barcelona. It has been confirmed that the player has joined the side on loan, but at the end of the season, it will be finalized if the player can be bought via permanent transfer.
There would be two factors that would need to be taken into consideration for that, and those are if Birmingham City has enough money to buy the player next season and if the Belarus international has found chemistry with his teammates.
It can be said without a doubt that Hleb would want to stay at Birmingham City; after all, he refused offers from big footballing nations like from Anfield and White Hart Lane. Last season, Hleb was playing in the German Bundesliga for Stuttgart.
Hleb helped Stuttgart a lot last season and took their tally up by performing and acting as a pivot in their victories. This season, he has decided to appear at another rising club and while playing for them, he will certainly have to face difficulty. Still it was Hleb’s decision; therefore, he must know what he is getting himself into.
If the player wants to face challenges instead of picking easy teams like the Reds or the Whites, his wish has been granted, but his decision might not be all that bad. Birmingham City finished 9th last season in the Premier League, and this season too, they look bright and ready to improve their rankings.
This season, the Alex McLeish-led side currently resides at the number 6 spot, a spot that was occupied by Aston Villa at the end of last season. Birmingham City’s game-play certainly show a depth of chemistry between the team and that is why they have been progressing in recent times, so it all depends on whether Hleb is able to settle in to the team.
Hleb is not unaware of the English style of play, as the former Arsenal player was a legend for the Gunners. Hleb started his career from the Barcelona youth team, where he played just 10 matches and scored 4 goals after which he joined Stuttgart in 2000. There he stayed for 5 years and played 172 matches for the German club and scored 19 goals in them.
In 2005, the midfielder joined Arsenal and in the 3 years for them, he made 130 appearances and netted 11 goals. In the summers of 2008, Barcelona bought him and he left for the star-studded team that he once played for when he was young.
He had a miserable time there, as he was constantly overlooked and therefore remained in the shadows. He made 36 caps for them in the first season, but after that, he wasn’t able to find his footing in the first-team and therefore in his second year, he was sent back to Stuttgart on loan. Eventually, in his last season for the club, he made 34 appearances and scored a lone goal.
While talking to the media, the Belarus international stated that he had nothing against the sides of Roy Hodgson and Harry Redknapp, but preferred to join Birmingham City, though he has failed to give a sound theory for his decision.
Hleb has said that one of the reasons he joined Birmingham City was of the confidence and ambition that the club’s manager Alex McLeish had. He stated that though his side did not have many world-class players, they had the will to perform and where there is a will, there is a way.
Still McLeish is introducing changes to bring the club into top level football. He has just recently acquired two other players in the last moments of the transfer window, and they, too, promise a bright future at the club.
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