DAN CROWLEY’S TIME at Birmingham City appears to be nearing an end after manager Aitor Karanka advised him to move on.

Crowley joined Birmingham 18 months ago from Dutch outfit Willem II for a reported fee of £750,000.

He featured prominently last season under Pep Clotet, playing 43 times for the Championship club across all competitions.

However, the former Republic of Ireland underage international has found himself out of favour at St Andrew’s since Karanka’s appointment in July.

He has made just four first-team appearances this season, the most recent of which came in a defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in October.

While praising the playmaker’s attitude, Karanka told the Birmingham Mail that Crowley would benefit from a move away from the club during the January transfer window.

“I always said he is a very good kid,” explained the former Real Madrid defender. “He trains really well and as a manager, as a coach, it is frustrating when you can’t find him a place on the pitch. But he does his best every day.

“I think the best thing for him is [to] move [to] another team and I told him always that myself and the club will help him [with] whatever he wants. He is a really good professional and he deserves to be helped.

“I don’t think it is the quality, it’s nothing against him. The opposite – everything I can say about him is good things. But it is something that I prefer to play with other players, just like this.”

During his second stint as Ireland manager, Mick McCarthy monitored Crowley’s progress at Willem II. McCarthy travelled to watch him play in the Dutch Cup final against Ajax, before revealing in August 2019 that “eligibility issues” precluded him from being available for a senior Irish call-up.

Current Ireland manager Stephen Kenny said that “question marks” remained over his availability when asked about the 23-year-old back in July.

The Coventry-born player, who has Irish grandparents, has represented both England and Ireland on the international stage. 

“I’ve asked the FAI to process the transfer,” he told the Irish Independent in February 2019. “I’ll wait for my clearance to come through and would be delighted to be part of the Ireland squad for the Euro 2020 campaign if selected.

“I had a strong Irish upbringing and spent most of my childhood summers playing sports in Tramore, Co Waterford.”