Birthplace of my son will always be special – Sanchez
IVAN Sanchez has paid tribute to Blues’ supporters after his St Andrew’s departure was confirmed. The 29-year-old winger has returned to Spain with Real Valladolid, where he spent the second half of last season on loan and helped the club return to La Liga.
Sanchez signed a three-year deal on arriving at St Andrew’s in 2020 but has left on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee.
He found game-time hard to come by under head coach Lee Bowyer, featuring just three times last season – the Carabao Cup outings against Colchester and Bournemouth, and a 20-minute cameo in the 5-0 hammering of Luton in August.
Although things didn’t pan out as he would have wanted, Sanchez retains fond memories of the club and the city – the place of his son’s birth.
“Hello Blues,” he addressed fans on social media. “Today my time ends in Birmingham. During my first year I was very happy playing for you and defending this shirt.
“I would have liked everything to have been different later on but for many reasons it was not.
“Birmingham will always be special to me as my son Leo was born there and we will remember the club always with great affection.
“A big hug, I wish you the best for the future.”
The sale of Sanchez comes at a crucial point in the summer for Blues, who are thin on the ground in terms of numbers.
The loanees have returned to their respective parent clubs, while Jeremie
Bela and Kristian Pedersen headed a list of players who departed at the end of their contracts.
It has left Bowyer with an extremely skinny group of first-team players in pre-season training and in dire need of reinforcements, but much will depend on Laurence Bassini and his attempts to complete a takeover.
The 52-year-old businessman last week told the Birmingham Mail he has until June 30 to get the deal finalised.
Meanwhile, Blues have secured the services of sought-after defender Rico Browne, one of six academy products who have signed their first professional deals with the club.
As reported in April, Browne was close to agreeing terms with the club, despite interest from Tottenham and West Ham.
The 18-year-old has finally put pen to paper and will be a Blues player for the next couple of years. He made more than 30 appearances for the Under-18s and U23s last season.
Joining Browne in committing their futures to Blues are goalkeeper Alfie Brooks, centre-back Tommy Fogarty, defender Callum Sullivan, midfielder Rico Patterson and attacker Kieran Wakefield. They join Jordan James and George Hall, who signed professional deals last season.
Brooks joined Blues as an U16, made a couple of appearances for the U23s last season and 11 for the U18s.
Fogarty has represented both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland at youth level and was a mainstay of the U23s’ defence last term.
Patterson is a ‘technically gifted midfielder’ and has come through the age groups. He played nine times for Steve Spooner’s group last term.
Sullivan can play in either full-back position and has also appeared for the Republic of Ireland at youth level.
Wakefield has captained the U18s and scored four times for the U23s in 2021/2022.
n Maxime Colin has revealed the Blues squad share the frustration and anger of the supporters over the uncertainty which has engulfed the club.
Colin, who has been at St Andrew’s since joining from Brentford in 2017, understands the emotions felt by the supporters.
“We feel this frustration,” he said of the atmosphere. “Since the arrival of the owners, fans have been unhappy with the results.
“We understand their frustration because we, the players, are frustrated ourselves not to achieve what you would like.
“After, there is not really animosity against us, it is really directed towards the direction.
“After the match against Blackburn, several supporters said to me, ‘It is not the players we are after, we have a resentment towards the owners’.
“Many rumours about a possible takeover are circulating, the off-season may be hectic.
“As players, we are focused on the field but it is true there are things we find unfortunate.
“This takeover story happened just a few weeks before the end of the Championship, we didn’t have time to think about it.”
Nothing will be achieved until everyone at St Andrew’s is on the same page. Colin acknowledges that isn’t the case but the players can’t pin their dreadful run of form at the back end of last season on the ownership – they must take responsibility too.