Birmingham City appear to have fended off interest in goalkeeper John Ruddy from Premier League new boys Luton Town

Luton Town appear to have shifted their focus away from John Ruddy in a major boost to Birmingham City.

Veteran goalkeeper Ruddy was targeted by Premier League newcomers Luton last week after they snared Tahith Chong earlier this summer. Luton wanted Ruddy to compete for their number one spot with Thomas Kaminski, who joined the Hatters from Blackburn Rovers earlier this month.

Luton are understood to have offered Blues around £1million for Ruddy, whose contract at St Andrew’s expires next year. While that is an attractive sum of money for a 36-year-old, Blues would have been presented with the enormous headache of replacing Ruddy.

The goalkeeper is integral on and off the field and Blues wouldn’t have found a replacement easily, hence their reluctance to deal. Luton have now turned their attention to Norwich City stopper Tim Krul.

Their imminent signing of Krul should signal the end of their interest in Ruddy during this particular transfer window. It will be music to the ears of Blues boss John Eustace who, like everyone else at the club, is desperate to see Ruddy stick around.

In a summer of statements of intent, Blues hanging on to their goalkeeper shouldn’t be understated. Before Tom Wagner and Knighthead pitched up, Blues might not have been able to fend off Premier League interest in one of their players.

Times are changing at St Andrew’s and insiders insist Blues are no longer pushovers in the transfer market. Standing their ground on Ruddy when Luton came calling is yet another example of that.