I said the other day that the club could have a bright future on its hands, what with the new contracts that have been offered to some of our youngsters.
But what about those young players that have already made their mark at the club? Well in this latest edition of the Vital Birmingham City rankings, I’m going to be going into who I think have been the top young players to play for the club this season.
Disclaimer: I’m going for those who are 23 and younger at the time of this article being published. So without further ado, here we go:
5, Jack Concannon: Being a little cheeky with this first one, but anyone who knows me and has read me on here before should know how big a fan I am of Concannon. And although he’s only made one appearance for the first-team this season, I do think that’s going to change in the coming months with academy games being scrapped.
4, Jake Clarke-Slater: A player who probably could have got more games under his belt had he not had to compete with the stalwarts of captain Harlee Dean and Marc Roberts, but hasn’t put too many feet wrong when he’s been called upon, with the Blues only losing two league games when he’s played the ninety minutes.
Should the club be using more youngsters in the final weeks of the season?
Yes
No
3, Dan Crowley: A player who has done incredibly well to adapt to a new situation. Having predominantly played through the middle so far in his career, he’s now being asked to play out wide and producing some excellent performances, leading the side in pass completion percentage and coming second in terms of key passes per game.
2, Ivan Sunjic: A player who came in with pretty high expectations in the summer, but has easily managed to prove those people right with his control of the midfield, averaging over 75% completion percentage, not to mention his ability to strike the ball from distance (which we could do with a little more of).
1, Jude Bellingham: The easiest decision I may ever make during these ranking articles. Given how he’s managed to command a regular starting place in a Championship side at just 16, and gotten to a level where he is valued at £30m by some clubs. Just a shame we may not be able to see him develop in front of our own eyes if transfer stories are to be believed.
Three real gems from the Academy to look out for are Zach Jeacock, Nico Gordon and Kyle Hurst.
Jeacock a goalkeeper who made his debut for England Under 19’s earlier this season.
Gordon a skilful centre back who uses the ball well.
Hurst a winger who has good dribbling skills and can also tackle.
Blues’ future is safe with these young stars plus the others in your article.