Birmingham City, Arsenal transfer agreement was a masterstroke from the Blues: View | OneFootball

Matt Upson joined Birmingham in 2003 and spent four successful years at St Andrew's.

With Birmingham City preparing for life in League One for the first time in 30 years, it's fair to say that the glory days of the Premier League feel like a long time ago.

The Blues were a pretty regular feature in the top-flight of English football between 2002 and 2011, spending seven seasons in the Premier League, and some excellent players passed through St Andrew's during that nine-year period.

One of whom was centre-back Matt Upson, who spent four seasons at the club between 2003 and 2007, with the player becoming a regular feature in the England national team during that time, such was the level of his performances for Birmingham.

The Suffolk-born defender made the move to the West Midlands in January 2003 from Arsenal, and it's fair to say that the move was an excellent one from a Birmingham City perspective.

Signing Matt Upson was a masterstroke by Birmingham City

After spending six years with the Gunners and making just 56 appearances, Birmingham City made a January 2003 swoop to bring Upson to the club in what was their first season in the Premier League, forking out a reported initial fee of £1million, with the deal potentially rising to £3million based on appearances.

It proved money well spent by Steve Bruce, and after failing to make a Premier League appearance during the first half of the season at Arsenal and subsequently being loaned to Reading, Upson came straight into the Blues' starting XI, playing all 14 league games as Birmingham finished 13th in their first top-flight season.

After a promising end to the 2002/03 campaign, Upson became a mainstay in the Blues side the following season, playing 30 Premier League games, all of which were starts, as Birmingham continued to make an impression in the top-flight, finishing in a very respectable 10th place.

His form at club level saw him receive a call-up to the England squad for the first time, and he made his debut against South Africa in May 2003, going on to win seven of his 21 England caps while a Birmingham player.

It was clear that his stock was rising, and he started 36 Premier League games for Birmingham during the 2004/05 season, with his performances and consistency making the meagre fee the club had paid a few years prior look like an absolute steal.

The 2005/06 season was a frustrating one for both Upson and the club, and having started every league game until February, the centre-back was forced off with an injury in a derby against Aston Villa, and he was forced to watch from the sidelines as Birmingham were relegated to the Championship.

As a full England international and with a wealth of Premier League experience, it was clear that Upson wasn't going to stick around for long in the Championship, and after half a season in the second tier, he completed a move to West Ham in January 2007 for a reported fee of £7.5million.

Upson didn't have a fairytale ending at St Andrew's, with his final appearance seeing the club lose 3-1 at home to Southend United, but his time in the West Midlands is remembered fondly.

Upson made 127 appearances for Birmingham City, became an England international and made the club a big profit, so it's fair to say that signing him from Arsenal in 2003 was an excellent piece of business.

After leaving Birmingham in January 2007, Upson would spend four years with West Ham, where he made 145 appearances, 18 more than he made at St Andrew's, before departing in the summer of 2011 after the Hammers' relegation to the Championship.

Two years at Stoke City followed, where he struggled for regular playing time, before he dropped to the Championship with Brighton, initially on loan, before signing permanently in 2013.

It seemed as if Upson's days of playing in the Premier League were behind him, but after their promotion to the top-flight in 2014, Leicester City added the experienced central defender to their ranks, but he made just six appearances and left upon the expiration of his contract in the summer of 2015.

Upson finished his career in the unexpected location of Milton Keynes, spending a season with Championship outfit MK Dons, but after just seven appearances he left the club and subsequently retired in the summer of 2016.

Despite a slightly nomadic and underwhelming end to his career, Upson was a very talented defender in his prime, as shown by his 21 England caps, and enjoyed great success with Birmingham and West Ham.

However, it's the Blues who will feel like they had a great deal with Upson, and he was the perfect signing. They signed him for cheap, he performed well and he made the club money, a good deal all round and the defender is still fondly remembered at St Andrew's.