The 30-year-old looked set to seal a move to the Welsh capital after the Bluebirds agreed a fee with the Addicks and personal terms were reportedly agreed.

However, after hearing of Blues' interest, Bent had a last-minute change of heart and snubbed the move in favour of joining up with Alex McLeish's outfit.

"At the time I spoke to Cardiff and the manager there, the club seemed very excited about signing me. They're striving to get into the Premiership by building the new stadium and such like," Bent told Birmingham's official website.

"But for me, personally, when Birmingham came in it was a lot more appealing because I think it's more likely that Birmingham are going to get back into the Premiership.

He added: "Knowing that Birmingham have just come down from the Premiership and that they've got infrastructure in place to get back up as soon as possible, I wanted to come down and be involved and help the club and myself get back into the top division."