Keeper Kingson leaves Birmingham

Kingson joined Birmingham from Antalyaspor last July (Getty)

Birmingham City have released goalkeeper Richard Kingson a year before his contract was due to expire.

The 29-year-old Ghana international has agreed to have his registration cancelled and he is now able to join another club on a free transfer.

Kingson played one league game in his season at St Andrew's, in the 2-0 defeat by Portsmouth in November, and played twice in the Carling Cup.

Manager Alex McLeish said: "I'm sorry things didn't work out for Richard."

He added: "It's about opinions and we have other plans, so for the sake of his first-team future, we have let Richard move on."

Despite his lack of first-team football at Birmingham, Kingson played in every match for Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations; helping the host nation to finish in third place.

Meanwhile, Birmingham have announced a pre-season friendly against Leicester City at the Walkers Stadium to be played on Tuesday, 29 July.