Craig Gardner drops very exciting Birmingham City prediction - Blues supporters would be in dreamland | OneFootball

Gardner believes Blues can challenge the country's elite in the years to come

Birmingham City technical director Craig Gardner has outlined the club's ambition to compete for Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles in the years to come.

It is an exciting time at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, and one which has been kickstarted by a record-breaking season in League One in which Blues accrued an astounding 111-point haul that blew previous EFL and global records out of the water.

Chris Davies' side and the club now return to the Championship in a much better place, with the backing of Knighthead Capital Management and the likes of Gardner in the B9 boardroom showing no signs of slacking in the near future as they look to firstly end their Premier League exile which now stands at 14 years, before competing with the elite of English and European football on a regular basis in the future.

The future is definitely bright on multiple counts for Birmingham, with a new 60,000-seater stadium and 'Sports Quarter' complex in the pipeline, whilst the academy has been awarded 'Category One' status by the PGAAC for the first time since 2022, as Blues look to source talent who will follow in the footsteps of Real Madrid and England sensation, Jude Bellingham.

And, following the exciting news at the club's 'Knighthead Performance Centre' at Wast Hills, Gardner and other staff members outlined their delight at such developments and how this impacts the club's progression moving forward in a mini 'documentary' on YouTube.

Craig Gardner issues bold Birmingham City, Premier League, Champions League prediction

Gardner initially came through the youth ranks at arch rivals, Aston Villa, before featuring 125 times for Blues across two spells of mixed fortunes, which included being a part of the side which won the EFL Cup against Arsenal but were also relegated at the conclusion of the 2010/11 season.

By the time the midfielder returned to St Andrew's under Gianfranco Zola, the club had stagnated and were used to plenty of relegation dogfights, and a lack of investment meant the likes of Bellingham, his brother Jobe, Demarai Gray and last year's big summer sale, Jordan James among others, were thrust into the first-team limelight under a plethora of managers.

However, with the club now earning top academy status and seeing the likes of goalkeeper, Alfie Smith, feature for the Under-18's side this season despite being just 14 years of age - the youngest to do so since the aforementioned UEFA Champions League winner - Gardner is excited by how the conveyor belt of talent will continue to be a part of a front-footed philosophy right throughout the club up to the first-team.

"Obviously, over the years we've been more of a low-block, counter-attacking team being around that Championship, and sometimes we're surviving for (that)," he began.

"But now we're sort of, transitioned into a more possession-based, attacking team (with) exciting, front-foot football.

"So, if we invest in younger players, 16, 17, 18, if we can get an academy full of assets that we're developing, then it's bingo," he claimed.

"We don't just want to get back to the Premier League, we want to go and get into the Champions League, we want to win the Premier League, then we want to win it again.

"Five years from now, if we can develop top players that can fit the identity we're creating in the first-team so we don't have to go spend multiple millions, that's going to make me so proud," he added.

"There's no ego's here. We're here to work and we're here to win.

"You can go to another local team, and you can have the best trainers or the best boots that they're going to give you. But, they aren't going to love you like we love our academy."

Interim CEO, Jeremy Dale rounded off the video with a bold statement of his own, echoing the vision which has been evident throughout St Andrew's, the Knighthead Performance Centre and Elite Performance and Innovation Centre at Henley-In-Arden.

"The only sustainable, competitive advantage is to innovate and to keep innovating and keep pushing those boundaries," he explained.

"That's what we're going to do in all parts of our business, but especially the academy."

Birmingham City supporters will be excited by new academy status and pledge

After many years of seeing academy players burst onto the scene before being sold to keep the club financially afloat, Bluenoses will no doubt be excited by these pledges from the hierarchy.

In truth, not many players from the academy have made their way into the matchday squad this season. But it was clear that the most important target for Davies and his staff was to achieve promotion from the first-team, although the underage groups have also had respectable seasons of their own regardless.

The investment into Blues' academy will also help aid the club's progression as any future sales for homegrown talent count as pure profit, such as the potential £8m received from Stade Rennais for James' services, as Blues spent big in the transfer market to assemble a squad capable of immediately competing in the Championship and beyond after the first major tick in the box for Wagner's rebuilding job was marked.