Reports and rumours on social media are suggesting that popular Birmingham City boss Garry Monk could be on his way out the club very soon.
The former Leeds and Swansea boss has done a magnificent job in restoring the Blues into a competitive Championship side, but a serious breakdown in his relationship with controversial chief executive Xuandong Ren is believed to have made his position untenable.
The pair are understood to have clashed several times during his 15 months in charge, but a recent meeting over the clubs plans for next season have led to serious tension between the two.
Monk has become something of a fans favourite since moving to the second city last March. When he arrived the Blues were still reeling from the ill-fated spells of Gianfranco Zola, Harry Redknapp & Steve Cotterill and in serious risk of dropping down into the third tier of English football for the first time since 1992. But he's come in and completely changed things.
He steered them to safety by 5 points in 2017/18 then last term they looked capable of launching a push for the play-offs, despite having the constraints of a transfer embargo to contend with. But a 9 point deduction for breaching rules off the pitch meant that those hopes were soon extinguished, resulting in a 17th placed finish.
Monk has managed to get the supporters back on board which was a massive job when he first arrived at St. Andrews with the club in disarray. So if these rumours do indeed end up coming to fruition then the board are going to have some VERY angry people to deal with.
His relationship with Xuandong Ren has been strained for some time now and it isn't hard to see why. The club aren't ran well off the field as the embargo and point deduction prove.
It's also been reported that he didn't want the club to complete the swap deal with Aston Villa which saw club record signing Jota move in exchange for Gary Gardner. Top scorer Che Adams is also a man in demand and expected to depart this summer, so there's potential for a lot of change at St. Andrews.
But even if Monk does somehow end up staying in the second city, it looks like it may not be for too long as there is clear unrest behind the scenes and there would be a number of clubs interested in taking him away from there. One of which could be his former employers Swansea City, who're still looking to replace the departed Graham Potter.
