Taylor Gardner-Hickman has been a key figure in Blues’ push for promotion back to the Championship, continuing to make a significant impact on the pitch.
As the club nears their goal of securing promotion, Gardner-Hickman’s consistent displays and leadership have made him an essential part of their success, with his contributions being pivotal in their quest to return to the second tier of English football.
As the club nears their goal of securing promotion, Gardner-Hickman’s consistent displays and leadership have made him an essential part of their success, with his contributions being pivotal in their quest to return to the second tier of English football.
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00:00Taylor Gardner-Hickman has become a key figure in Birmingham City's pursuit of promotion,
00:08playing a pivotal role as they look to secure the League One title and return to the Championship.
00:13Known for his versatility and dynamism, Gardner-Hickman has impressed both in midfield and defence,
00:20showing his ability to influence games at both ends of the pitch. As Birmingham City
00:25aim for a swift return to the second tier, I spoke to Charlie Haffenton of Birmingham
00:30World to discuss his impact, his long-term journey and how he's navigating the challenge
00:36of helping Birmingham City return to the Championship by winning the League One title.
00:45And Charlie, looking at Birmingham City, low-knee Taylor Gardner-Hickman has been a real impact
00:52this season. He's sort of come in and made his stay likely that they are going to pick
00:58him off, obviously, on loan from Bristol City. He looks a player that has really been important
01:03to Blues this season and their campaign in terms of getting straight back up to the Championship.
01:09Obviously making the drop from the Championship to League One is always quite a bold move
01:13for any player, but it's a case of him seeing the vision, seeing the project that they've
01:17built. How impressed with him have you been and Blues fans as well? And on top of that,
01:23Chris Davis as well. He must have some real good words to say about his performances
01:28throughout this campaign.
01:30Yeah, Gardner-Hickman, known around these parts, of course, from his time at West Bromwich
01:33Albion, went to Bristol and played fairly well, but wasn't quite the star player figure
01:38he wanted to be. And then Birmingham, as they have done so much last summer, were able to
01:42convince players to take that drop down and join for the project. And although he joined
01:46on loan in January on deadline day, it was announced that he will be joining permanently
01:50in the summer.
01:51The fee was undisclosed, but it's understood to be about one and a half million pounds
01:55after add-ons, which I think is a really good fee. It's a bargain for a player who's made
01:59such an impact this season. He might not have been starting every single match. Of course,
02:04I think you've got to rotate when you've got such a strong squad. But when injuries have
02:07taken hold, his versatility has been so important. You can fill in a right back when Ethan Laird
02:13isn't fit and available, when Christian Bielik's had knocks here and there, he's been able
02:16to fill in. He's played out on the left wing recently and scored in successive matches,
02:21scoring winning goals in important matches against the likes of Wickham Wanderers who
02:24are fighting as well for promotion to the championship. And he can play midfield in
02:29a double pivot. We saw when Iwata and Paik had injury problems, Mark Leonard as well.
02:33Hickman has stood into that midfield position. I think you could probably play him anywhere
02:37on the pitch apart from in goal. He's proven he can be a clinical finisher when you need
02:42him to be. You could probably put him up front if they had so many injuries. But as
02:45is Blues depth in attack, they've had the likes of Alfie Made to step up when Stansfield's
02:50been out, when Dykes has been out. Keshia Anderson's stepping up as well. But Gardner
02:54Hickman, for me, really does stand out as someone whose versatility has been so, so
02:58important. And a long season in League One, you need to be able to be consistent and help
03:03them to become just that.
03:06Yeah, obviously only 23. As you mentioned there, such a utility player, versatile, can
03:12play sort of anywhere. How important could that sort of hold Blues in the future in terms
03:17of their championship ambitions? They're not going to want to now go straight back up and
03:22just remain in the championship again or narrowly avoid the drop. Obviously, it's not in the
03:27plans to do that. It's the plans to really challenge near the top and near the playoff
03:31places next season, you'd imagine straight away because of the investment. How important
03:35could he be to Blues' plans in terms of the future?
03:40I think it's difficult to say in terms of his level and where his potential lies. When
03:45he was at West Brom, he was 20, 21 years old. He wasn't playing too regularly. But when
03:50he did feature, I thought there were signs that maybe he could be a top championship
03:53player. Whether he can convert that to the Premier League, I'm not too sure. And of course,
03:57he has been playing in the third tier this season. Everything is going to look a lot
04:01better in that division, with all due respect. The step up to the championship is huge. You
04:06see teams go up all the time and they really struggle, even when they make good signings
04:09in the summer. I think Blues are definitely, they've definitely got the squad that's capable
04:13of competing for potentially the playoffs next year, if they can get a couple of new
04:17signings through the door.
04:18Gordon Hickman as an individual, is he good enough to start in that team? I think he probably
04:22is. And if he isn't, he can come in, as I say, when players get injured, he can play
04:26in so many different positions. He can come off the bench and make an impact as well.
04:30And his passing range has been really impressive. Right back or right wing back, he pushes so
04:35far up the field, he can put a good delivery into the box. He can switch to play if he
04:39needs to as well. I've been really impressed with what I've seen and hopefully he will
04:42be good enough to make that step up.