Chris Davies has promised Alfons Sampsted an opportunity to finally get his Birmingham City career up and running.

The on-loan FC Twente defender is poised to feature in this weekend’s FA Cup tie against Lincoln City after being sidelined for two months with an ankle injury sustained on international duty. The last of Sampsted’s 12 appearances for Blues came in the 1-1 draw with Northampton Town on November 9.

Sampsted has fallen behind Ethan Laird and Taylor Gardner-Hickman in the pecking order, and Blues skipper Krystian Bielik has played at right-back recently to further block the Icelandic’s path to first team football. Remarkably, at the halfway point of the season, Sampsted still hasn't started a league game for Blues.

Davies said: “He’s been in and out at the start, then he made a good impact in a few games, one in particular against Huddersfield when he got the second assist for the goal, but his injury has knocked him really and he was out for quite a while. He’s just been getting going really from there.

“I’m hoping he can have a really strong second half of the season. He probably hasn’t really, in his eyes, shown what he can do yet but we’re only half way there in games so there’s a lot of football left there for him. He’ll get an opportunity in the next week.”

Davies is clearly counting on Sampsted being in Birmingham for the duration of his loan from FC Twente. There has been some speculation over whether the deal could be cut short, but international loans are rarely cancelled in January unless all three parties are desperate to sever ties.

Sampsted’s ability to play at left-back, where Blues are currently short following a season-ending injury to Lee Buchanan, could help him secure more minutes. Davies insists Sampsted’s versatility will give him chances in the second half of the season.

The Blues boss added: “In my eyes he can play all across the back-line – right-back, left-back and he can even play as a hybrid centre-back, and he can even fill in as a right-midfield player.

“He’s quite versatile so I think there will be game time and opportunities for him. He’s had to be patient but he’s a really good character. They are the bits that people don’t see, his attitude to training is as good as you could possibly wish for and around the training ground the way he behaves and conducts himself is first class.

“He’s been a really good addition to the environment and hopefully he can get on the pitch more in the second half of the season.”

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