Olivier Tebily has left Birmingham City after having the remainder of his contract paid up.
While Routledge is linked with Blues move
Olivier Tebily has left Birmingham City after having the remainder of his contract paid up by the St Andrews outfit.
The 32-year-old's existing deal was due to expire at the end of the season but he is now free to step-up his search for a new club.
Tebily made 95 appearances for Birmingham during a six-year stint in the Midlands after joining the Premier League club from Celtic in 2002.
Having been out of favour since the start of last season, Tebily accepts that now is the right time to seek pastures new.
Time to go
"I really enjoyed my time at the club and I had some fantastic times during almost six years that I was here," he told the club's official website.
"But I have now reached a stage in my career where I felt it was time to move on."
In other news coming out of Birmingham, it is expected that Blues boss Alex McLeish will lodge an offer for Tottenham winger Wayne Routledge this week.
The former Crystal Palace man has been told he can leave White Hart Lane, with Birmingham understood to be leading the chase for his services.
