The Birmingham Mail understands that central midfielder Reece Brown has been suspended by Championship play-off hopefuls Birmingham City. The 20-year-old has been absent from recent Under-21 matches and an internal investigation will take place.
It is understood that Brown’s ‘general conduct and levels of professionalism’ have come into question in recent times. The player hasn’t featured for the first-team since November 2015, and hasn’t played for the Under-21s for just under a month.
The youngster is in the final year of his contract and it would appear he is unlikely to earn himself an extension. In October, manager Gary Rowett revealed that Brown had been late for gym sessions.
There is no question of his ability and talent, especially given by the fact he has recently had trials at three Premier League Clubs, including West Ham United. He continues to be involved with the England Under-20 set up.
He was given his first-team debut under Lee Clark, now manager of Ladbrokes Premiership side Kilmarnock, back in 2013 and played eight times during that season. Brown has already represented England at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 level, before making his Under-20 bow in 2015 along with then teammate and now Leicester City winger Demarai Gray.
Brown has first-team experience from a spell on loan at Notts County in 2014, but that spell was cut short because of injury but he did impress during his brief stint.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Brown, certainly in relation to his Birmingham City career. There have been a number of similar cases of this nature involving young English talent over the years. Let us hope his talent does not go to waste.
