Gary Caldwell and Garry O’Connor could be switching clubs in January as their clubs prepare a swap deal involving the Scotland duo. The Scottish Sunday Express has reported that Celtic and Birmingham City may seal a deal that would see the pair swap sides in the new year without a transfer fee changing hands.
Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has been linked with a move for Caldwell on several occasions and the defender could be tempted to move to the Premiership and join the ex-Scotland manager’s side. McLeish has been given a bumper transfer budget to spend but has said that he wants to keep a British feel at the Midlands club and sees Caldwell as a bargain buy.
Caldwell is out of contract at the end of this season and is in dispute with the club over a new deal. Last season’s Player of the Year is seeking parity with the top earners at the club but the club will not meet his valuation and he is expected to move on in the summer, if not before. A number of clubs are said to be monitoring his situation, including Gordon Strachan’s Middlesbrough and German outfit Wolfsburg.
O’Connor has been at Birmingham City since the summer of 2007 but has failed to hold down a first team place, partly due to a succession of injuries. The powerful striker moved to England after a disappointing time at Lokomotiv Moscow but is said to be contemplating a move back to Scotland to get his career back on track.
The forward has worked with Tony Mowbray before, having been part of the manager’s exciting young Hibs side that also contained Caldwell. Celtic added to their front line in the summer but Marc-Antoine Fortune is not considered a natural goalscorer and Mowbray is keen to strengthen his options in attack.
A swap deal could benefit all parties, with the absence of a transfer fee a particular attraction to both managers. McLeish has vowed to spend his transfer budget wisely and would feel there was value in getting a 27-year old international without paying a large fee. The player would undoubtedly be able to command a higher salary in the English top-flight than the offer on the table at Celtic.
For O’Connor, the lure of first-team football and working with a manager he knows would prove tempting. Mowbray, unable to spend lavish amounts in January, could land a striker whose value would rocket if he became a regular goalscorer at the Parkhead club.
