Newcastle United may come up against a familiar face in their FA Cup clash with Birmingham after a former Mag moved to St Andrew’s this January.

The free-spending Blues drew plenty of attention when they smashed the League One transfer record to sign Jay Stansfield for an initial £15m fee, and have now added an ex-Toon defender to their ranks ahead of our meeting next month.

The Brummies spending power has helped them to top of League One, two points clear with two games in hand, and may well pose Newcastle a threat before a tough run of Premier League fixtures for the Magpies.

FA Cup opponents sign former Mag

Birmingham City have signed former Newcastle defender Grant Hanley from Norwich City on a short-term deal until the end of the season.

The Scotland international left us for the Canaries in 2017 after a solitary season in the north east and has become Blues head coach Chris Davies first January signing after a big spend in the summer.

The Blues’ defensive ranks have been weakened by a knee injury to Lee Buchanan that has ruled him out for the season and Dion Sanderson being loaned to Blackburn. Norwich released Hanley, who had just six months on his contract, after 197 appearances for the Norfolk outfit in order to allow the move.

The forgettable Hanley made 10 Championship appearances for us in 2016/17 after arriving in a £5.5m move from Blackburn, scoring once in the 6-0 demolition of Queens Park Rangers.

Date and TV details set for cup clash

Newcastle booked their place in round four with a 3-1 win after a scare against Bromley that was highlighted by a commanding Lewis Miley performance and a glimpse into the potential of Will Osula.

Our progression was rewarded with a trip to St Andrew’s that proves massively inconvenient for train travel with a 5:45 pm kick off on Saturday, February 8.

The cup tie will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer for those unable to make the journey to Birmingham, while our trip to Liverpool on February 26 has been selected by TNT Sports.