Fresh twist emerges in Birmingham City, Sunderland transfer saga | OneFootball

Luke O'Nien will not be moving to St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park

A fresh twist has emerged in the transfer saga involving Birmingham City, Sunderland and the Black Cats' experienced and versatile figure, Luke O'Nien.

According to an update from Birmingham Live, which was provided on Monday afternoon, the West Midlands outfit will not be pursuing a deal for the 31-year-old amid previous reports which also linked him to their local and Championship rivals in the form of West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City.

It has been stated at length that the current winter transfer window is a huge period for Blues and Chris Davies, who are hoping to make the requisite changes, both on the incomings and outgoings front, which could see them sustain a play-off push in the final 19 games of the second tier season.

Across the previous transfer window, Birmingham embarked on yet another high-profile recruitment drive as they looked to back up claims that Davies' already competent squad could lay a marker down in the race for the top six, which would also represent the club's highest league finish since 2011/12, when they lost to Blackpool at the semi-final stage.

14 players were sourced either on permanent or loan deals last summer, which included O'Nien's colleague at the Stadium of Light, Patrick Roberts, who has been a standout performer in the first five months of his loan stint from the Premier League newcomers.

After an inconsistent period which saw Birmingham pick up their first league victory in eight matches with a 3-2 success over Coventry on Sunday lunchtime, Football League World exclusively revealed that as many as eight players could leave St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park between now and the deadline of 7PM on Monday, February 3rd.

It has also been well-documented that Blues addressed their problem position of left-back straight away, with Kai Wagner signing a two-and-a-half year contract from Philadelphia Union last week, before excelling on debut against the Sky Blues.

In the lead-up to the window, Football Insider reported that, alongside a new left-back, Davies would hope to add a powerful and combative midfielder to his squad, as well as further reinforcements in his attacking department.

Yet, whilst O'Nien can certainly boast those qualities, as well as his ability to feature in the centre of the park, the two-time promotion hero is not expected to move to this particular part of the Midlands.

Fresh twist emerges in Luke O'Nien transfer saga involving Birmingham City

Much like his current employers, the Hemel Hempstead native has enjoyed a fine rise up the English footballing pyramid in the North East, initially moving to Sunderland in the summer of 2018 as part of Jack Ross' eventually failed rebuild after the Black Cats suffered back-to-back relegations from the Premier League into League One.

However, O'Nien has remained a constant link between those dark days and the club's current resurgence under the ownership of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and management of Regis Le Bris - a path which Birmingham will hope to emulate sooner rather than later after their record-breaking campaign in the third tier last term.

Despite joining Sunderland from Wycombe Wanderers as a central midfield player, O'Nien has since moved into the heart of defence, where his leadership was critical in the club's play-off success last May, although he was forced off in the final against Sheffield United in the opening minutes with a dislocated shoulder.

That particular injury would keep him sidelined for the opening weeks of the Wearside outfit's impressive return to the Premier League, before finding it tough to oust the raft of new recruits that boast a wealth of top flight experience amongst them.

So far this season, O'Nien has only played a matter of league minutes, and was sent off against Manchester City in a 3-0 away defeat for a late tackle on Matheus Nunes, before Alan Nixon reported that he could be the subject of a Championship loan move.

North East publication, Chronicle Live, then claimed that Blues, West Brom and Coventry were on red alert to this situation, before Birmingham Live have quashed such rumours from the Second City side's perspective.

The aforementioned developments at St. Andrew's could have given both Albion and Coventry a clearer route to O'Nien's signature. However, it may be the league leaders who are fancying their chances of securing a deal now.

That's because, as well as the Blues links being denied, West Brom have parted company with head coach, Ryan Mason, following a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday night.

However, there are still many days to go until the deadline, meaning further twists could be in order.