One To Watch: Michael Keane

Another Saturday means another game for Birmingham City. This time it is against automatic promotion hopefuls Burnley FC. The clarets are in a very rich vein of form and so it will be a tough game when we entertain them tomorrow.

As always, my one to watch this week is chosen due to who I believe will trouble us the most. However, this has been the toughest one yet. Mainly, this is because Burnley play as a team and have a team of very good players. A lethal combination. Therefore, to narrow it down to one player has been very difficult. But being the trooper that I am, I have narrowed in down to the ex-Manchester United youth player, Michael Keane.

To overlook the likes of Andre Gray and Ben Mee was tough because they are both superb players, 2 of the best players in the Championship in their respective positions. But the reason I have chosen Michael Keane is because I believe he will be the thorn in our side in terms of how we will set up. It is no secret that Birmingham, against the better teams, like to sit and defend before counter attacking on the break. Due to this, I think that we will have no problem defending unless Gray or Vokes pull something magical out of the bag.

Instead, I think that our problem will be when it comes to attacking. We need to make sure that we get a lot of men up with the ball when we break in order to be lethal. But Michael Keane has the positional awareness to stop any attacks that come via pace because he is able to react to the play. This could be a problem for any plan that Rowett has.

But it is not just Keane’s defending that could cause Birmingham City trouble. He has a knack of scoring up the other end. In fact, he is actually one of Burnley’s best attacking threats from set pieces. Despite only being 5ft 9, he has a magnificent leap on him and his headers are often very well directed. I’d like to see us have 2 men on the post if possible as I think this could prove very effective as Keane goes for placement over power on his headers.

In 39 appearances this time out, he has made 197 clearances, 35 blocks and only 19 fouls. This kind of player is someone who is tidy in the tackle and no nonsense. A real old school defender and if we beat him, we can definitely win. If we let him loose in our box, then it will only end badly.