Birmingham City might not have been as active as they were in last January’s transfer window, but I believe they have done a very smart bit of business by bringing in Martin Taylor from Blackburn. Of course, I’m biased as Martin has been a good friend of mine since we were apprentices together at Ewood Park.

 

He sought my advice when he was deciding whether or not to follow in my footsteps last week. I told him this was the place for him; it is an ambitious club with some of the most passionate fans you will ever find and having Steve Bruce as his manager would help him come on leaps and bounds.

 

There is no doubt that the St Andrews crowd will immediately warm to Martin. He’s a great defender, who can play at either centre-half or on the flanks. What the Birmingham fans will first notice is how comfortable he is on the ball; he is a tough defender, but he can also confidently bring the ball out of defence.

My old friend from the England Under-21s, Scott Parker has done very well for himself to earn a move to Chelsea. Some have suggested that with there being so many midfielders already at Stamford Bridge he might have been better off staying at Charlton, but I don’t agree.

I was in the crowd at Ewood Park on Sunday to see him make an impressive debut against Blackburn, and as Scottie showed in that game, he will relish the challenge of becoming a first-team player at Chelsea.

Jermain Defoe, another former team-mate from the Under 21s, has also moved, from West Ham to Spurs. I have to say he is a wonderful player, who possesses frightening pace and skill. It was obvious he was too good to remain out of the Premiership for long.

Manchester United bolstered their squad with the signing of Louis Saha, which surprised me a little bit. He was on fire for Fulham in the First Division three seasons ago, but then took some time adapting to the Premiership, although he seems to have done that now with 14 goals already this season.

Lastly, I can offer an update on my hamstring injury. Fortunately, it isn’t too serious, but I won’t be rushing back. At the moment I just want to concentrate on working with the physios and making sure I’m absolutely right before I play again.