Blues boss Mick McCarthy hopes short-term signing Kelly Youga can replicate the form he showed during his Charlton days and will fight Aaron Cresswell for the left-back role. Last week, the 27-year-old Central African Republic international put pen to paper on a Blues contract until January.
McCarthy says the deal came about after Youga had spent time training up the road at Colchester: "I’ve known Kelly because I watched him when he was at Charlton.
"He looked like being a really good player at Charlton. I really liked him, but he’s had an injury which has knocked him back and he’s been out for a while.
"We’ve got no real balance in terms of cover at left-back. I know Tommy Smith can play there, but he’s centre-half when all’s said and done, and we’ve taken him on a very short-term contract until January.
"If we can get him fully fit to play, he will give us a bit of balance and an option for something else that’s not a loan, which is important!”
Youga has played only 45 minutes of domestic first team football — during a spell with Yeovil last season - since November 2009 due to various knee injuries.
First he suffered a cruciate ligament injury, then in October 2010, just as he was set to return from that problem, he was diagnosed with a chondral defect in his knee, which required surgery and ruled him out for the rest of that campaign.
McCarthy says his spell with Town will be viewed as an extended trial:
"We’ve got no real options, so if we get a game out of him, I’d be delighted. We’ll have a look at him. We’ll get him fully fit. He gives me another option, one that’s not on loan, one that I can play if I need to.
"He might not play at all for us. He’s here until January. We’ve got to work on him and make sure we get him fit. He’s an option, which I hadn’t got before.”
He says he’s not concerned by Youga’s lack of games while in League One with Yeovil last season: "I’m not bothered about where he’s been. That’s all nonsense. He was doing great, then got injured and he struggled a bit. We’ll have a look and see.”
Ultimately, if all goes well, he wants him to battle Aaron Cresswell for the left-back position. Speaking prior to Saturday’s game at Leicester, McCarthy said he had been impressed with the former Tranmere man.
"That’s a challenge for him as Cressy has been excellent in the three games since I’ve been here,” he said.
"I know he was well fancied last year and I don’t know why his form dropped, maybe it’s indicative of when a club is having a bit of a tough time.
"The three games he’s played for me, he’s been excellent and if Kelly can play that well to get Cressy out of the team, it’ll be the signing of the century, let me tell you!”