Birmingham boss Alex McLeish believes Mauro Zarate will be a target for leading Premier League clubs after ending his loan spell at St Andrews.
The Argentinian striker joined Blues in January for the second half of the campaign from Qatar side Al-Sadd and scored four times in 14 appearances.
McLeish had eyed keeping the 21-year-old on loan for another season had City survived in the top flight.
But their relegation ended any hopes of that happening and now Al-Sadd want around £20million for Zarate to make a permanent move somewhere.
McLeish said: "Mauro is going to be an attractive proposition to Premier League clubs, I know he is. They were expressing an interest before we got him in January.
"I would like to thank him for his spell here and he made an impact.
"It was a little bit of a risk bringing him in from a league where you can get away with things, be lazy and still look like a world-class star, coming into the hurly-burly of the Premier League.
"So I applaud his spirit, his heart and he will be a good asset to one of the big clubs - if not here then abroad."
McLeish added; "If he went into a team who are a little bit technically more proficient than us - and I mean that with no disrespect to our boys - he would be even better.
"He's a real talent and it's just a shame that our situation counted against us. I know he's enjoyed being here and living in Birmingham. Now we have to move on."
Zarate, 21, has already been the subject of speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal, although in the short-term he has headed back home to Argentina after holding talks with his agent.
