Zarate loving Blues life

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The Argentinian player - one of the stars of the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup finals - has scored three goals in his last two games for Alex McLeish's side after signing for Blues in January. Al-Sadd are looking to recuperate most of the £10million they paid Velez Sarsfield for his services last summer should they allow Zarate to leave.

But he has made it clear he wants to continue at St Andrews after the current campaign, saying: "Birmingham were the first team in Europe who wanted to sign me when I wanted to leave Qatar and Al-Sadd so they are still my first choice for the future."

He continued: "There is a good chance for me to come back here on loan but I will not know until June. I want to stay in this country.

"I always wanted to come to England, I love the atmosphere and the football. It was always the target to come here. I like the city of Birmingham. It was quite hard to live in Qatar but I am enjoying my time here.

"I just want to find the best thing for everyone to be happy. My target is to stay in England, I don't want to go back to Qatar. I just want things to be clear."

Meanwhile, Wigan manager Steve Bruce has branded the manner of his departure from Birmingham "unforgivable" ahead of their relegation clash at the JJB Stadium on Saturday.

The ex-Blues boss will face his former club for the first time since leaving for Wigan last November, with the two sides languishing immediately above the drop zone with six games remaining.

"After six years I think I demanded a bit more respect than what was given," said Bruce. "The Carson Yeung issue clouded the waters a lot but, for me, the way it ended was unforgivable. It's often said that money is the root of all evil and, for me, people's greed ruined what was a very decent six years.

"I had an issue with that at the time and it's still there now. However, I'm now more focused than ever to make sure I do my utmost for the chairman who brought me here and get the three points, which will obviously help the club."