Birmingham academy coach praises trialist once of Chelsea
Former Chelsea academy player Renedi Masampu was praised by Under 23’s head coach Steve Spooner for his performance against rivals Aston Villa.
Masampu, 22, is currently looking to find his way back into the professional game after being released from Chelsea in 2019. The defender faced trials at both Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth in the summer however signed for neither of the League One outfits. He most recently played for Dulwich Hamlet in the National League South division.
Following his match against local rivals Aston Villa, Spooner was full of praise for the youngster given his time away from the game.
Speaking to Birmingham Live, he said: “That’s only his second game. He went for a long period of time without playing, six, seven, eight weeks, so full credit to him he went to Reading away and gave a full 90 minutes and worked really hard.
“Full credit to his level of fitness. He’s looked after himself and I thought he did well against Aston Villa.”
Having been spotted playing for Metropolitan Police in 2017, Masampu was successful in his trial at Chelsea.
Now, he looks to restart his career at the Blues, and Spooner believes he has every chance of making it.
“That’s where it is at the moment [just having a look], we will just see, he has only played the two games, we have to be respectful to him give him a chance to get his full fitness up and get his timing because we all know it’s not just the physicality you miss, it’s the timing and we need to give him chance to get up to full speed.”
Birmingham were awarded Category One Academy status in May 2021 following success within the development leagues.
They are now looking to strengthen their depth following their entry into the Premier League 2 Division 2.
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St Andrews stadium update
Birmingham are hopeful they will be able to reopen parts of their Kop stand for this weekend’s clash against Swansea City.
The stand continues to be closed off to supporters after “the discovery of further necessary repair work” in August 2021.
Now, there is still a slim chance supporters will be able to return to the Upper stand of the Kop.
A statement on the club’s website read: “Since our last communication, we have made encouraging progress on the Upper Kop stand and believe we are nearing a return to spectators.
“Presently, we would not be in a position to open this area of the stadium in time for our clash with Swansea City on Saturday 23 October.
“However, there is a possibility that the remaining repairs will be completed in the coming days, and we would be able to welcome supporters back for our fixture against the Swans.”
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