Manchester United drop Tahith Chong contract hint as Birmingham City's injury woes are analysed

Welcome to BirminghamLive's coverage of all things Birmingham City, on Wednesday, March 2.

Tahith Chong and Teden Mengi will be given the chance to impress at parent club Manchester United in the next pre-season.

The pair are currently on loan with Birmingham City - and had both done well under Lee Bowyer before injury interrupted their campaigns.

Chong arrived in the summer and was the jewel in Blues’ attacking crown before a freak training ground injury put him out for four months.

He returned for the first time off the bench against Huddersfield Town on Saturday and scored for the under-23s the following day.

Mengi meanwhile was brought in during the January transfer window as a replacement for Dion Sanderson and impressed before sustaining a hamstring injury.

And United’s technical director Darren Fletcher, who played with his Blues’ counterpart Craig Gardner at West Brom, says the Red Devils will cast an eye over the pair before deciding what to do with them in 2022/2023.

Of course United will have to decide whether to trigger the option in Chong’s contract - with Fletcher dropping a hint that they intend to have all their young loan players back in.

“I’m working closely with Nick Cox, as head of academy, to look at the long-term strategy for bringing players through,” Fletcher said at a fans’ forum event, as reported by Manchester Evening News.

“We have to manage the balance between allowing them to develop and creating the right steps for that, without piling the pressure onto them.

“Along with Nick, I’m looking at how we best use the loan system to give academy players invaluable experience at other clubs.

“We currently have 13 young players and academy products on loan and playing regularly in other