Alex McLeish, the Birmingham City manager, has expressed his interest in signing Barry Ferguson from Rangers.

McLeish managed Rangers from 2001 until 2006 and is a keen admirer of the central midfielder. ‘‘I haven’t made a move for Barry but I have enquired about him," he said. "He is one of a number of players I’m interested in. I’m on a holiday now but I’m still working away at some things.’’

Ferguson, 31, was stripped of the club captaincy by Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, after he made distasteful hand gestures as an unused substitute during Scotland's World Cup qualifier against Iceland in April. He is thought to be available for transfer having not started a league match since the incident.

Ferguson has already played in Premier League for Blackburn Rovers where he made 36 league appearances, scoring three goals. He joined them for £7.5m but a combination of poor form and injuries prevented him from playing regularly and returned to Rangers in a £4.5m deal in 2005 after only 16 months in England.

Birmingham are also reportedly interested in signing Joe Hart, the Manchester City goalkeeper who has lost his first-team place to Shay Given, on a season-long loan. They recently signed Christian Benítez and Scott Dann, two highly rated youngsters, for a combined £10m.