Birmingham City manager Tony Mowbray is set to come up against another one of his former clubs on Saturday afternoon.
On Tuesday, Blues took a big three points off one of Mowbray’s former clubs in the form of Blackburn Rovers, courtesy of a 1-0 win.
This weekend now sees the 60-year-old’s current side host Sunderland – the club he was sacked by earlier this season – at St Andrew’s.
Of course, the main focus during that match will of course be on picking up another vital three points.
Beyond that though, there may be an argument that Mowbray ought to also think about reuniting with another one of his former Sunderland players at Birmingham City, come the summer.
Tony Mowbray has form for reuniting with former players
Despite only being appointed as manager at St Andrew’s last month, Mowbray has already reunited with one player who previously worked under him at Sunderland in the form of Alex Pritchard.
The 30-year-old joined Birmingham City from the Black Cats on a two-and-a-half-year deal on the final day of the winter transfer window.
Since then, the 30-year-old has been limited to just a single appearance for the club due to injury, although he could still make an impact when he returns to action.
Now, another player who Mowbray could consider bringing to Birmingham City from Sunderland is Corry Evans.
Corry Evans would be a useful addition for Birmingham City
Evans is another player who has previously played with Mowbray at multiple clubs. After playing under him for several years at Blackburn Rovers, the Northern Irishman then signed for Sunderland in 2021.
He joined there by Mowbray the following year. However, the midfielder has now been out of action for more thana year due to a serious knee injury.
Speaking at the time he suffered that injury, the midfielder was described as ‘amazing’ by Mowbray.
Evans is now training with the Black Cats once again, but there has of course been change at the Stadium of Light, with Michael Beale taking over as manager.
That could lead to uncertainty over the 33-year-old’s future, given how long he has been out of action for, and the fact he is out of contract at the end of the season.
Those circumstances, are something that Birmingham City and Mowbray should arguably look to take advantage of.
Mowbray has shown throughout his managerial career that he is open and willing to reunite with players, just as he did with Pritchard.
Having worked with him for so long before, Evans could be tempted by such a reunion, and Mowbray’s knowledge of the player could bring the best out of him.
It also appears that Mowbray has a strong faith in the current Sunderland midfielder to do the job he needs in his teams.
It should also be noted that with the likes of Ivan Sunjic and Gary Gardner out of contract at St Andrew’s in the summer, while Andre Dozzell only on loan until the end of the season.
As a result, Birmingham City may well need midfield reinforcements such as Evans in the summer, and his vast experience at this level would make him a reliable option to fill that void.
With Evans’ own contract situation meaning that he will be available on a free transfer, this could also be a deal that works well for Blues from a financial perspective.
Cnsequently, there are a number of reasons why a reunion between Mowbray and Evans at Birmingham City in the summer would make a lot of sense.