Last updated on .From the section BirminghamGeorge Friend played 28 games in his first season with BirminghamBirmingham City defender George Friend has signed an extended one-year deal that will keep him at the Championship club until the end of the 2023 season. Friend, 33, joined from Middlesbrough last summer but Aitor Karanka was sacked as boss in March with the club three points clear of the bottom three. The Spaniard's replacement Lee Bowyer guided Blues to safety and Friend said the new season will be a new start. "The squad is coming together nicely," Friend told the club website. Thirteen players were released in the summer and chief executive Xuandong Ren also resigned, but Friend said the club are now more settled.

Source: BBC July 16, 2021 10:07 UTC