The young boys of Brum

The conveyor belt of mass produced budding footballers progressing through the ranks at Wast Hills has, in recent years, been a system that Birmingham City managers can rely on. From Nathan Redmond, Jack Butland and Demarai Gray to the current crop of Viv Solomon-Otabor, Reece Brown, Josh Cogley and Charlee Adams, the Blues academy continues to produce the goods.

The academy is a vital part of every football club and Blues are no different.

Redmond came in, established himself and moved on. Butland moved on and continues to prove himself as a potential England number one, something we all knew was possible during his time at St. Andrews. Gray left and then lifted the Premier League crown five months later. And then there`s the likes of Jordon Mutch, a success but on a lesser scale.

In recent seasons, the Blues faithful have also witnessed Mitch Hancox, Callum Reilly and Will Packwood make their first team bows and then move on. So youth has been given a chance.

But with the current crop of youngsters in the building, the hopes are higher than ever. Jack Storer, already popular in the stands, has reared his head and the aforementioned Solomon-Otabor, Brown, Adams and Koby Arthur have all had a crack at first team football.

Then there`s promising goalkeeper Connal Trueman, who recently signed a one year contract extension. Delve a bit deeper and you`ll find David Popa, Luke Maxwell, Josh Martin, Dan Cleary, Ronan Hale and Dom Bernard. The list goes on.

Inevitably, not all of the above will go on and make it at Blues. But there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of our football club.