Birmingham City youngster Rico Browne is to undergo a trial at West Ham United as of Sunday, reports Football Insider.
Birmingham City’s 17-year-old starlet Browne has been granted permission to head for the Hammers to undergo a trial period set to last several weeks.
Football Insider report the above, and also that Browne is looking increasingly likely to leave Blues.
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It comes after the club announced plans to change the shape of their youth academy. Birmingham City are considering the disbandment of the vast majority of their youth set-up in place of a B and a C team.
The news has divided fans. Blues have produced some sterling names in recent seasons but the possible move of ditching their youth teams in place of more ‘reserve’ teams seems like a rash one.
Birmingham City have this season lost 15-year-old academy starlet Calum Scanlon to Liverpool, having sold Jude Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund last summer.
West Ham look to have the first say on Browne, but Football Insider report that there are ‘other clubs’ interest in the youngster.
His departure will be another reminder of how far Birmingham City still have to go in their bid for a Premier League return.
Bellingham’s departure was inevitable but the likes of Scanlon and Browne are two names that could well have become (or still become in Browne’s case) important first-team players at St Andrew’s.
But instead, Blues look to be selling their youngsters on the cheap and Premier League clubs are scooping them up.
