LONDON (Reuters) ? Birmingham City have rebuffed a transfer request from unhappy Wales midfielder Robbie Savage and will instead lay on a chauffeur to drive him to and from his home town of Wrexham.

Savage submitted a written transfer request to manager Steve Bruce on Monday, saying he wanted to move nearer to his home town due to family problems.

?The club fully sympathises with Robbie?s documented personal problems and understands the strains of driving up and down the motorway to visit relatives in North Wales,? Birmingham said in a statement yesterday.

?The club has therefore offered to provide a car and driver to chauffeur Robbie to and from his home town of Wrexham at the club?s expense.

?However, Birmingham City Football Club feels that it is being backed into a corner and will not under any circumstances be bullied into making decisions which are detrimental to either the team or the club as a whole.?

Savage has been strongly linked with Blackburn Rovers, now managed by former Wales manager Mark Hughes.

Birmingham managing director Karren Brady is insistent Savage will not be joining Rovers. Brady?s club are 12th in the Premier League while Blackburn are 15th.

?We are all surprised and disappointed by the news of Robbie?s transfer request, especially as it seems like he wants to swap Birmingham City for Blackburn Rovers which I cannot understand,? she said.

?If Robbie has come to that decision because of the distance between Blackburn and Wrexham, he should take a closer look at the map, as it works out at about the same distance as it is from Birmingham, if not a little further.?