Welcome to BirminghamLive's coverage of all things Blues.
It’s nearly three years since Odin Bailey made his Birmingham City debut and well over two since he fulfilled the dream of every Blues fan, heading home a late winner in front of the Tilton Road end to give Pep Clotet’s team a victory over Middlesbrough.
As Jude Bellingham strode assertively through the early months of 2019/2020 Championship season, Bailey also seemed to be progressing, finally justifying the talent everyone in the club’s academy had known about for a long time.
After all Bailey had played with Mason Mount for the England Under-16s, had been the crown jewel of the Under 18s team which reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup and – as an 18-year-old, was called up by Garry Monk to the match day squad to face Ipswich towards the end of the 2017/2018 season.
It would be Clotet who would give him his first taste of men’s football but then his chances with Blues dried up, he was sent on a series of loans which meant most of his development would take place away from St Andrew’s and Wast Hills.
After a couple of seasons at Forest Green and Livingston in the Scottish Premiership, the wide-eyed teenager who headed Dan Crowley’s cross past Darren Randolph and celebrated with such disinhibition in front of 19,000 fans, is now a 22-year-old man who has played more than 80 senior matches and whose future is now.
“It’s been tough at times,” Bailey told BirminghamLive. “Thinking sometimes you are going to get your chance, then it doesn’t come. Then you think ‘OK, next season’ and it doesn’t come again. I have learned a lot over the last few years, it has been proper character building.
“I know that talent alone doesn’t just get you the opportunities, you
Read more on msn.com
msn.com
