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Birmingham City might be forced into Romelle Donovan transfer rethink

Birmingham City youngster Romelle Donovan in action for loan club Burton Albion
-Credit: (Image: Richard Burley/ Epic Action Imagery)


Romelle Donovan’s loan spell at Burton Albion hasn’t gone to plan for Birmingham City.

Since the mercurial 17-year-old signed for Burton on deadline day in August, they have only won once in League One – and Donovan wasn’t in their 18-man squad for Saturday’s 2-0 victory over relegation rivals Shrewsbury Town.

That has been a theme of Donovan’s stay in Staffordshire. Donovan has been omitted from four of Burton’s last five squads for League One fixtures.

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He was given a rare start in Burton’s 1-0 victory over Scarborough in the FA Cup first round by interim boss Tom Hounsell before dropping out again last weekend. In total, Donovan has played 176 of the 900 minutes Burton have played in League One since he joined them.

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That isn’t likely to cut it with Blues’ bosses who wanted Donovan to play regular league minutes this season. And it probably isn’t enough for the fiercely ambitious teenager himself.

When he signed for Burton, Donovan said: “Game time is why I’ve come out on loan but also the club wants to play football and I want to show who I am and what I can do on the pitch.”

Throw into the mix that Donovan has been left out of the England under-19s’ last two training camps. Blues will no doubt be monitoring Donovan’s loan heading into the January transfer window when they will be able to recall him and station him elsewhere.

Colston Crawford, who follows the Brewers for the Burton Mail, said: “We have to keep remembering he’s only 17 and if I’m honest he’s flattered to deceive. He started in the FA Cup against Scarborough and in the EFL Trophy and he’s started one league game.

“Fans tend to like him because he catches the eye with his quick feet and he goes at people, but he does tend to go into blind alleys at the minute. We want an end product from him. At some point we want a pass rather than him going back to try and take someone on again.”

It does beg the question whether Donovan would have been better served at a team competing in the upper echelons of League Two, such as the loan George Hall was given at Walsall.

Burton’s pledge to play possession-based football drew Donovan in and, admirably, they have largely stuck to their principles despite a poor sequence of results. But now that the man who signed him, Mark Robinson, has left and the Brewers are embroiled in a relegation scrap, pretty football is likely to go out of the window in favour of winning football.

At this stage of his career, Donovan might not thrive in the rough and tumble of a League One relegation dogfight.

Do you think Blues should recall Donovan and station him elsewhere? Have your say in the comments HERE