Blues boss Mick McCarthy believes summer signing Josh Yorwerth has “all the tools to be a really good defender”. Yorwerth, 20, made a goalscoring debut in last week’s 2-1 Capital One Cup victory over Stevenage.
"Josh Yorwerth, I thought he did all right in the first half, there was nothing outrageously wrong, except for the goal,” McCarthy said of the Wales U21 international’s debut performance.
"It was as plain as the nose on my face that he should have tackled him better, and I’ve told him that.
"What was nice was that I came in at half-time and Brett Pitman was telling him exactly the same, so I left him to it and said, ‘You’ve saved me a job, well done’.
"He took it from a senior pro and he was great in the second half. His header for the equaliser was outstanding.
"What was even better for me, from my point of view as a centre-half, was that a couple of balls came into the box late on and he stuck his head on them and headed them clear. He had a good debut, I’m delighted with him.”
Yorwerth joined the Blues on trial in April having been told he wouldn’t be offered new terms by his former club Cardiff City in the summer. After impressing, he signed a two-year deal with an option for a third season.
"He came here at the end of last season,” McCarthy recalled. "I’d heard he was going to be released from Cardiff.
"We invited him, as we do, we get lots of players like that, and he came and trained. And he’s fairly raw, I would say, but he’s got all the tools to be a really good defender.
"He’s quick enough, he can actually pass the ball better than he did on Tuesday night, but I’ve been at pains to try and make sure he keeps it out of our net and we can develop his passing and get him playing out from the back.
"But he’s bought into being a defender because he is technically very good. And what is good about him is that he likes defending, throws his head on things and he’s brave. I think we’ve done OK. I think he’ll be a player for us.”
McCarthy says the likes of Yorwerth and fellow youngsters Josh Emmanuel and Myles Kenlock have got to be ready in case they are need to step into the first team.
"You don’t know what will happen, sickness maybe, there might be a suspension and suddenly you’re in the team or an injury, which can always happens. If they’re not physically ready, they come in and they can’t perform properly.”
Yorwerth, Emmanuel and Kenlock are likely to be in the side which takes on Doncaster at the Keepmoat Stadium in the second round of the Capital One Cup next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, McCarthy watched on-loan centre-half Matt Clarke, 18, in action for Portsmouth as the League Two side knocked Derby out of the competition in last week’s first round tie, which was shown live on TV.
"I watched the game and he never had a kick in the first half because Portsmouth had the ball all the time. That was counterproductive for me, I didn’t see too much of him. But in the second half he showed he was a really good player.
"The only reason he didn’t play here was because Berra, Chambers, Smith and Mings were fit all the time and Jonny Parr was the back-up.
"I always had two fit centre-backs and he was never going to dislodge any of them. But he’ll be a good player for us, he’s a talented boy and a smashing fella.”
Clarke, who has now made four appearances since making his temporary switch to the south coast, is with Pompey on a youth loan until January 3rd with Town able to recall him at 24 hours' notice after the first 28 days.