Upson, who became the first blues player to represent England in the modern era of football, is seen as an ideal replacement for Woodgate. The ex-Arsenal man is naturally left-sided, quick, a good header of the ball and strong in the tackle.

But Blues would be reluctant to let Matty Upson leave as he has formed one of the strongest central defensive partnerships the club has ever seen with Ireland captain Kenny Cunningham. The fact that blues have conceeded just 10 goals in 12 games this season, the third best total in the Premier League, backs up the claim of Upson being one of the best defenders in the league.

The value of Upson is said to be around £5 million but Newcastle would have to raise the stakes to tempt Blues into a sale. If Jonathon Woodgate left the geordies for just under £15 million in the summer then surely Messer's Sullivan and Gold would want close to this amount for the jewel in the Birmingham crown.

Even if blues were tempted into selling Upson there would be no guarantee that the man the blues rescued from reserve team football at Highbury would be willing to leave St Andrews. Upson has already represented England whilst at blues so there would be no reason to leave to benefit his international career. And as for his personal career Newcastle cannot offer Upson anything more than Bruce can at Birmingham. Newcastle are not title challengers, have not won a trophy in over 30 years and could struggle to get into the Uefa cup this season under new manager Graeme Souness.