Birmingham City are set to finally complete the signing of Liam Ridgewell, the Aston Villa central defender, in the next 24 hours.

Steve Bruce, the Birmingham manager, has been tracking the England Under-21 player since the start of the year. The Midlands club had a £2 million bid rejected in January and also failed with an attempt to take Ridgewell on loan before the transfer window closed after the departure of Matthew Upson to West Ham United.

Bruce has continued to monitor Ridgewell’s situation and a fee of around £2.5 million is finally set to persuade Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager, to part with the player.

Ridgewell, for whom agreeing personal terms will not be a problem, will be the first player in recent times to make the direct switch between the two fierce second city rivals. But it has been commonplace in the not too distant past with the likes of Tony Morley, Robert Hopkins, Dennis Mortimer and Alan Curbishley playing for both clubs.

Ridgewell, a former West Ham trainee, was a regular first team player under David O’Leary during the 2005-06 campaign and also featured for most of the first half of O’Neill’s first season at the helm.

But he has slowly slipped down the pecking order and now finds Olof Mellberg, Martin Laursen and Gary Cahill ahead of him.

The prospect of regular first team football has persuaded Ridgewell to make the move to St. Andrews and has over-ridden any fears he may have in terms of the treatment he may receive from Birmingham fans.

Franck Queudrue, the Fulham defender, is also set to join Ridgewell at St Andrews in a £2.5 million deal and his signing would give Bruce more competition for places at left back, where his only choice at present is Mat Sadler, who is currently injured.

Queudrue, 27, has a host of Premier League experience to call upon following his move to the Riverside Stadium from Lens five years ago.

He spent four seasons on Teesside, helping Boro win the League Cup in 2004 and reach the final of the UEFA Cup two years later before moving to Fulham last summer.