Lee has talent show ready

LEE BOWYER says his record with young talent makes Birmingham an attractive destination for Premier League wannabes.

The Blues chief (above) confirmed that playmaker Riley Mcgree, 23, who has joined new MLS side Charlotte, will be replaced.

He also said there are starlets in the club’s own academy who are ready to follow 17-year-old

Jordan James into the first team.

And he believes clubs have noticed the way he looked after Manchester

United’s Talith Chong.

He said: “Losing Riley (inset) is disappointing – when we needed him he didn’t let us down. He wasn’t even in the squad at the start of the season.

“But he got his chance and he grabbed it. He’s going to be a big miss.

“We have to replace him. And we will. We are constantly speaking to players and clubs, and they’ve seen what a good job we did with Chong.

“They’ve contacted us and said, ‘Do you want to take one of ours?’ My record with loan players and young players is very good. You only have to look at my past record – the players I’ve had and young players who have moved on to bigger and better things.

“Football clubs aren’t silly. They’ve noticed and seen that. They see their players improving – they go back better. That’s important to the club loaning players to us.

“The chances I’ve given to our young lads are more than the last three or four managers here put together.”

Bowyer may have to dip into the marketplace to strengthen more than just Mcgree’s departure. There are suggestions that Wolves loanee Dion Sanderson is today playing his last game after being recalled by his parent club.

City have been hit by Covid issues with the manager taking a closer look at his youngsters during the past week, in which fixtures against Fulham and Peterborough have been postponed.

He added: “I’ve had 10 lads training at times this week and six of them are kids. They’ve all got a chance. George Hall has been on the bench. He’s quite similar to young Jordan James.”