There has been plenty of speculation in the past few days regarding the future of Birmingham City right back Paul Caddis.
Gianfranco Zola has confirmed that Caddis can fight for his place at the club but has said that he is currently behind our other two right backs in the pecking order.
Those two of course being Jonathan Spector and Josh Dacres-Cogley, with the latter perhaps being the reason Caddis may be allowed to leave.
Spector is very much the first choice right back at present but Dacres-Cogley has proved to be an astute back-up even at the tender age of 20.
His first team breakthrough has only come this season but he has already featured six times in league and cup.
His most recent appearance came in Saturday`s 1-1 FA Cup third round draw with Newcastle where he replaced the injured Spector just before half time.
In the 45 odd minutes he got on Saturday, he showed all the attributes needed that would suggest that his future at Blues will be an exciting one.
Defensively, Dacres-Cogley was solid and he barely allowed the Newcastle wingers a sniff. His positioning and awareness particularly impressed me as well as his strength when going in for challenges.
Yes, he made a couple of misplaced passes but he’s still learning and his performance against The Magpies was almost a complete one.
We know that he also loves to attack and he showed that intent on numerous occasions. He was unlucky not to find himself with an assist as he put in a delightful ball only for the usually reliable Lukas Jutkiewicz to miss time his header.
He linked up very well with Diego Fabbrini and then Greg Stewart when he came on and, judging from his display on Saturday, he is the reason why Caddis probably won’t get a look in.
For me, Dacres-Cogley could be the real deal and definitely the future right back for Blues. It’s important that he keeps his head down, learns from those ahead of him and continues to improve.
He may be small in stature but Dacres-Cogley has certainly sent out a big message that would suggest that he is ready and waiting for any opportunity that may come his way.
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