Source: Team_Talk
Chucho chugs out of St Andrew's
irmingham have decided against signing loan striker Christian Benitez on a permanent basis - with five other players also leaving Blues.[LNB] Benitez has just completed a season-long loan at St Andrew's, scoring four times in 36 appearances.[LNB]The Ecuadorian will now return to parent club Santos Laguna in Mexico after not doing enough to convince Blues boss Alex McLeish to pay in excess of £7million for a permanent deal.[LNB]McLeish told the Birmingham Mail: "We did have an agreement that the previous board put in place. Chucho (Benitez) did very well for us. I am sorry to lose him but the deal was just too rich for us.[LNB]"My task now is to find someone who can do a better job. I have got to try and find a player who can be even better than Chucho."[LNB]McLeish is set to revamp his squad this summer and has parted company with midfielder Gary McSheffrey plus defenders Franck Queudrue and Gregory Vignal.[LNB]Midfielder Lee Carsley had already signalled his intention to leave St Andrew's.[LNB]But, as expected, McLeish is to offer a new deal to veteran striker Kevin Phillips and has also begun talks with full-back Stuart Parnaby over a new deal.[LNB]Phillips showed that he can still make an impact at the top level when used as a substitute.[LNB]McLeish confirmed: "We will look to make a new offer to Kevin and he has bought into the role we want him to play now.[LNB]"Like all players, he would want to play but I said last season that I saw him being more effective as an impact player and that remains the case."
