Blues manager Paul Lambert was pleased with his young players during his team’s 3-2 defeat to Paderborn.
Attacking midfielder Armando Dobra (pictured above), 18, made his first appearance for the senior side, while Bailey Clements, also 18, was involved with the first team for the first time since pre-season last summer.
They were two of 12 academy products in the matchday squad alongside the likes of Corrie Ndaba, Idris El Mizouni, Luke Woolfenden and Tristan Nydam, who were in or around the first-team squad last season, as well as the more established Andre Dozzell, Teddy Bishop, Jack Lankester, Myles Kenlock, Josh Emmanuel, Flynn Downes. Keeper Harry Wright has also travelled to Germany.
"The young kids were excellent," Lambert said. "Dobra was excellent, Idris was excellent, Corrie, Tristan Nydam who was really, really good [at left-back].
"There are two ways to do it; either bring in loads of experienced players or use the really good young talented players here who have energy and enthusiasm as well as a hunger for the game. That’s the way we’ll go.”
Could Dobra and Clements (below) fight their way into his thoughts for the opening day game at Burton Albion?
"We’ve still got a lot of games to play and I’ll decide, but they’ve shown me they can handle it and that’s a great thing,” he continued.
"Their attitudes are first class and that’s really important for me, as well as being really good young footballers.”
Lambert says there’ll be more hard work on the training ground in the week ahead as they continue their German training camp.
"Yes, that’s normal, you have to work,” he added. "We’ll have a hard day again tomorrow and then they go again with another hard game.
"We played a really good Bundesliga side, these will be playing Bayern Munich and that next year, Dortmund and Schalke. They’re a good side.”