"Would be good for us" - Birmingham City: Craig Gardner addresses potential structure change for the future | OneFootball

Further plans on Blues' future have been discussed at the club's latest 'Open House' event

Craig Gardner has discussed the possibility of Birmingham City utilising a multi-club model in the years to come.

Speaking at the club's latest 'Open House' event, the former Blues midfielder and current technical director spoke about the idea to those in attendance at the event, as well as supporters who streamed a live broadcast of proceedings on YouTube.

The Blues' ambitious plans under Knighthead Capital Management have been well-documented for a large proportion of the time the group, fronted by Tom Wagner, have held majority ownership of a club which was previously on its knees under the stewardship of BSHL.

At present, gaining promotion out of League One at the first time of asking takes priority for the Birmingham management team and the likes of Gardner, who had a major part to play in a record-breaking transfer window by club and divisional standards.

However, it is clear that the possibility of emulating the likes of Manchester City in this particular field is an avenue which Gardner is potentially looking to explore.

The 'multi-club' model has become much more commonplace across European football in recent years, with more clubs in England looking to follow such trends in order to benefit the club financially, as well as the overall development of young talent.

Given their current status, the Abu Dhabi United Group - owners of Manchester City - are the dominant force in this particular footballing facet, with the Middle Eastern empire currently in control of 13 clubs across the globe, which include fellow UEFA Champions League outfit Girona, New York City FC, Melbourne City FC and Yokohoma F.Marinos among many others.

The 'Red Bull Group' have also become synonymous with this particular function, with the likes of 'V Sports', who own Blues' bitter rivals Aston Villa, also expanding their network with a 29% minority stake in Vitoria Guimaraes, as well as networking with ZED FC, Vissel Kobe and Real Union.

When asked whether this is a route which Birmingham are looking to go down in the coming seasons, Gardner initially responded: "We haven’t spoken about it if I’m honest. It would be good for me, personally, if we could do that.

"Five to 10 years down the line, if that’s something we could achieve with the way recruitment is going now with players and bringing players from overseas, or the points system that you have to get round, there’s loads of things that we could consider. I think that would be good for us if we could do that," he added.

Whilst the prospect of attracting other clubs into a Knighthead-fronted empire isn't exactly in the works at present, Blues' recent history with young players coming through the ranks at Wast Hills and the club's new Elite Performance and Innovation Centre base in Henley-In-Arden, suggests there is more-than enough scope for these suggestions to become reality.

Of course, the standouts in that regard come in the form of Real Madrid and England sensation Jude Bellingham and his brother Jobe, who has been instrumental in Sunderland's fast start to the Championship campaign.

Furthermore, examples such as the recently-sold Jordan James and current Al-Ettifaq winger Demarai Gray further enhance the conveyor belt of talent which has come through the B9 ranks over the last decade.

Therefore, with the ambitious plans of a new 'Sports Quarter' in the pipeline, as well as an eventual return to the Premier League, it wouldn't be a shock if the backroom team at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park looked to forge strong European or Worldwide links in order to strengthen the pool of talent at their disposal.