Quashie heads back to West Ham from Birmingham City

Jan 20 2009 by Andy Walker, Birmingham Post

Nigel Quashie’s dream of securing a permanent move to Birmingham City has remained unfulfilled after Alex McLeish opted to not renew the midfielder’s deal.

The West Ham United midfielder had spent three consecutive emergency one-month loan spells at St Andrew’s in a bid to return to full fitness whilst boosting Birmingham’s options.

Blues manager McLeish would have had to have retained Quashie until at least the end of the season having used up the player’s 93-day emergency loan allocation.

However, following the arrival of Quashie’s colleague from Upton Park, Lee Bowyer, on a temporary arrangement, McLeish no longer required the former Scotland international’s services.

That news would have come as a bitter blow to Quashie who expressed his strong desire to remain at St Andrew’s to The Post last month. The former West Bromwich Albion player’s arrangement with Birmingham had not only helped rebuild his fitness following a serious ankle injury, it had also helped ease the pain of losing his mother Caroline to cancer last year and allowed Quashie to be closer to his girlfriend and young son who live in the city.

Last month Quashie, 30, told the Birmingham Post: “”I wouldn’t hesitate to come to Birmingham because I think it will be a new start for me, especially with everything I’ve been through.

“Birmingham would be brilliant for me, I’ve really enjoyed it.

“If I could sign here, then I would sign here, no hesitation.

“I owe Birmingham a lot just for giving me an opportunity to put difficult things aside.

“I wouldn’t even blink at it, I would go straight away.

“I’m really happy with how things are going and I wouldn’t change