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Bristol City already have Max Bird replacement as Michael Skubala sheds light on midfielder's exit "We felt this was the right time for him to move on and for us to get a fee for Max, with a year left on his deal" Bristol City already have Max Bird's replacement "in the building," in the eyes of Michael Skubala, who has shed some light on the midfielder's move to Birmingham City and the next steps in the summer transfer window. City confirmed on Thursday evening that Bird's two-and-a-half-year spell in the West Country had come to an end, with the 25-year-old completing a permanent move to St Andrew's for an undisclosed transfer fee. The former Derby County man's current contract at Ashton Gate was set to expire at the end of the upcoming season. While it was never confirmed directly that Bird had been offered an extension, Skubala last week said that the Reds were in "ongoing discussions" with the midfielder and Jason Knight. Prior to the confirmation of Bird's departure, Skubala addressed the media at the Robins High Performance Centre to preview City's Championship season-opener against Millwall. In an embargoed section of that press conference, he discussed the midfielder's then-imminent move away from south Bristol openly with the local media. "[Max is] a very good player that's been great for this club over the last few years," Skubala told BBC Radio Bristol at the Reds' training base on Thursday. "But, as you know, this is the window as this is what can happen. "I think for us, and for the player, it's a great deal, and I think it's one that needed to happen for both parties. "It comes to a point where a deal is great for the club, and it's a deal that's good for Max as well," the manager added. "Max has been great for the club, but we felt this was the right time for him to move on and for us to get a fee for Max, with a year left on his deal." While injuries limited Bird to just four Championship starts under both Gerhard Struber and Roy Hodgson last term, the 25-year-old had - albeit, over the course of a brief period of time - been a regular fixture of Skubala's City sides, both in pre-season and last week's Carabao Cup defeat. More often than not, the former Derby County man has been deployed as the Reds' central attacking midfielder; that was the role he started in against each of Newcastle United, Plymouth Argyle and Walsall. In the cup meeting with the Saddlers, Bird kept Scott Twine out of the Robins' starting line-up. That evening, fellow number 10 Sam Greenwood operated from the left wing, while Tomi Horvat was omitted from the matchday squad entirely, as Skubala opted to cast an eye over Yu Hirakawa and Emil Riis on their return from injury. Though losing a player of the 25-year-old's quality less than 48 hours before the start of the league season is far from ideal, City don't feel they now need to rush to find an alternative to Bird in the market, having already done so earlier in the summer. "I think we've actually brought in his replacement before he actually went," Skubala explained. "I think that's why we tried to move really quickly within the window, because I think the replacement's in the building. "I think we've got loads of options," the Reds manager added. "We've got Dom Ballard, we've got Sam Greenwood, we've got Scott Twine, and we've got Tomi Horvat. We've got exceptional talent already that can play in that [number] 10 role, or however we set up. "We're really comfortable. It's a good move for Max, and it's a great move for the club - [he was] obviously going into the last year of his deal - to get a good deal."