McLeish reveals Taylor bid

07 March 2009 13:20
Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish has revealed he was close to signing Ryan Taylor during the January transfer window. Taylor left Wigan Athletic earlier this year to join Newcastle United as part of a swap deal which saw Charles N'Zogbia move in the opposite direction. The versatile Taylor was considered as an option by McLeish as the Blues chief looked to add a right-back to his Championship squad. McLeish believes a deal to bring Taylor to St Andrews was not far off, telling the Birmingham Mail: "We had a number of full-backs and right-backs in mind when we had problems in that area. "We also at one stage had a think about Ryan Taylor, who has now gone to Newcastle United, and thought something was maybe going to happen there, but it didn't." Blues have since signed Stephen Carr and McLeish is looking to extend the former Newcastle full-back's contract until the summer. He added: "We did a month contract initially and we will be looking to extend it to the end of the season. "I would think the board would be right behind that one."

Source: SKY_Sports