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Birmingham
City’s Carling Cup hero, Obafemi Martins appears set to make a return
to Russia’s Rubin Kazan come the end of the English season as it has
emerged that the Blues are yet to tie up a deal for the Nigerian
striker.

Martins, who
grabbed the vital cup winning goal for Birmingham in last Sunday’s 2-1
victory over Arsenal at London’s Wembley Stadium, left the Russian
outfit in January to pen a short-term loan deal with the Premier League
outfit. He etched his name into Birmingham folklore following his cup
winning heroics, and having helped the Blues end their long wait for a
major trophy, he had hoped that he would be offered the opportunity to
extend his time in the English top flight. That however appears to be a
far-off dream for the former Inter Milan and Newcastle United player as
he has been warned by Rubin that he is expected back in Russia at the
end of the English season. Earlier reports suggested that the Blues had
completed a £5million deal with Rubin to make the 26-year-old’s move to
Saint Andrew’s permanent.

No agreement

But according to
Rubin’s coach, Kurban Berdyev, no agreement has been struck to take
Martins back to the Premier League on a permanent basis, and insists he
expects Martins to report back for duty at his parent club when his
deal runs out in the summer. “Martins left Rubin for family reasons. He
has a son and we agreed he will stay close with his family until the
summer and then return to Kazan. We have not received any official
offers,” Berdyev told Championnat.ru.

Martins hasn’t had the best of times in the Russian top flight since
joining from Germany’s Wolfsburg last July for almost £7million. Prior
to joining the Blues in January, the Nigerian international managed to
score only two goals for the Russian giants in 17 appearances most of
which were as a substitute. It was a far cry from a player who earned a
reputation as a proven goalscorer at his previous club sides. He
nevertheless still has a further two-and-a-half years left on his
contract with the Russian side to prove his critics wrong. However, his
exit from Rubin could be hastened if the club manage to sign a new
striker before the Russian transfer window closes on March 10, with
Tottenham’s Roman Pavlyuchenko at the top of their wish list.