Interest is growing in Birmingham City midfielder Fran Villalba this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a reports in the Spanish media outlet, which claim that Sporting de Gijon are targeting the 23-year-old Blues midfielder as a potential replacement for Manu Garcia, who is wanted by Real Betis Balompie.

It has also been reported that Lee Bowyer is prepared to part with the former Spain U19 international this summer, as he has just one year remaining on his current contract at St. Andrew's.

Bowyer will be buzzing

Having made just 17 appearances for Birmingham since joining the club from Valencia CF back in the summer of 2019, it would seem a fair statement to make that the man the Blues dubbed "one of Spain's most exciting prospects" upon his arrival in England has not quite lived up to expectations.

Indeed, having made his debut for Valencia as a 17-year-old back in 2015, the £1.35m-rated man went on to impress during a loan spell at CD Numancia in 2018/19, scoring four goals and registering seven assists over his 39 LaLiga 2 appearances that season.

This form was enough to convince Birmingham of a move for the £5.3k-per-week midfielder, awarding Villalba a three-year deal at the club back in 2018.

However, having scored just one goal over his 17 Championship appearances in the first half of the club's 2019/20 campaign, the Spaniard failed has failed to make a single for Birmingham appearance since, being loaned out to UD Almeria for the second half of the season, as well as for the entirety of 2020/21.

As such, the fact that Bowyer has the chance to keep the man once likened to David Silva off the club's books next season is sure to have left the 44-year-old buzzing, as both the space the departing Spaniard would free up in his squad, as well the money saved on his wages, will help the manager land one of his own targets in the position this summer.

In other news: Nixon drops transfer claim on 21 y/o gem with a "huge future", it's good news for BCFC