John Eustace reveals John Ruddy transfer talks after Luton bid for Birmingham City star
Latest Birmingham City news from BirminghamLive includes John Eustace on Luton Town’s bid for John Ruddy
John Eustace has revealed John Ruddy pledged his commitment to Birmingham City before starring in their 1-0 win over Leeds United last weekend.
Ruddy was the subject of a bid from Premier League newbies Luton Town last week after being identified as a target by their manager Rob Edwards, whom the experienced goalkeeper worked alongside at Wolves. Blues are understood to have fielded a bid in the region of £1million for the 36-year-old.
Luton have since turned their attention elsewhere and confirmed the signing of Tim Krul from Norwich City on Thursday after finding Blues reluctant to deal. Ruddy now looks set to complete the final year of his contract at St Andrew’s.
The goalkeeper will keep his place in Blues’ XI for their trip to Bristol City this weekend after keeping his first clean sheet of the campaign last time out. Despite the noise surrounding Ruddy’s future, Eustace had no qualms about selecting the goalkeeper after a brief conversation before the meeting with Leeds.
Eustace told BirminghamLive: “His attitude, his desire and his level of professionalism is second to none. I spoke to him about the bid from Luton and whatnot, he said ‘You’ve got nothing to worry about, I’m 100 percent focused on Birmingham City and I’m 100 percent focused on playing for the boys’. And I thought he was excellent.
“John has been a vital part of what we’ve wanted to do since I came in. We signed him last summer and he’s proven he is still a top goalkeeper at this level. It’s full testament to him that a Premier League club wanted to take him. We’re very fortunate that we have a good goalkeeper there and going forward he is going to be massive in that dressing room for us and I’m very pleased he’s staying.”
Blues’ goalkeeping department lost a member this week when Zach Jeacock completed a loan move to Gloucester City. Jeacock has been acting as understudy to Ruddy and Neil Etheridge throughout the last 12 months but Blues’ hierarchy want the 22-year-old to test himself in senior football.
The third space in Maik Taylor’s goalkeeping unit will most likely be taken by Oliver Basey, who travelled out to Spain for the first team’s pre-season training camp in July. First year professional Brad Mayo could also benefit from Jeacock’s loan exit.
“I think we’ve got two very good goalkeepers and it gives the younger lads an opportunity to move up and train with the group,” explained Eustace. “It’s important Zach goes out and plays games.
“He didn’t get much game time last year and it’s important he continues his development, so we’ve sent him out on loan to get that. Hopefully he can come back and really kick on.”
