Two Midlands-based clubs - Birmingham City and West Brom - are competing for the defender’s signature this month

Birmingham City have reportedly joined West Midlands rivals West Brom in the race to sign Rangers outcast Adam Devine - with the versatile defender expected to leave Ibrox this month.

The 21-year-old - a product of the Gers youth academy - is out of contract this summer and hasn’t featured for the first-team in over 16 months.

Devine made his senior debut for the Light Blues in May 2022 but opportunities since then have been hard to come by, with the right-back spending time out on loan at Brechin City and Motherwell in recent years. During his time at Fir Park, Devine played just 10 league games in the second half of last season.

Now back at Rangers but seemingly no closer to being integrated into Philippe Clement’s squad in the near future, Devine has only been afforded minutes in the SPFL Trust Trophy with the club’s B-team - the most recent of those appearances coming back in mid-August.

With his career at a crossroads, the Birmingham Mail claim Devine could be sold cheaply in January so that Rangers can earn a small fee before his deal expires and St Andrew’s has emerged as a potential destination for him with Birmingham sensing a chance to strike.

The Blues, who faced off against the Scottish giants in a pre-season friendly, moved quickly to sign Ben Davies on a season-long loan in the final days of the summer transfer window and Devine could follow suit this month as Chris Davies’ side aim to keep up the pace at the top of the EFL League One table as they hunt for an immediate return to the Championship.

However, West Brom - currently without a manager after Carlos Corberan quit his role in favour of a move to La Liga outfit Valencia on Christmas Eve - have also been credited with an interest in Devine as they look to secure their spot in the Championship play-offs.

The Sun transfer expert Alan Nixon states on his Patreon page that the Baggies are also eyeing a cut-price deal.