Blues boss Paul Lambert says young midfielder Brett McGavin has “grabbed the game and taken his chance” having made his first two senior starts in the cup matches at Colchester and Lincoln.
Lambert says the 19-year-old is fine despite limping off in the 1-0 win at Sincil Bank on Wednesday.
"He’s okay, it was just a knock,” he said. "Again, he’s a young lad that’s been thrown in, but I’ve been happy with Brett, he’s done really, really well, but there are a lot of guys in the squad who are just that little bit ahead of him at the minute, but I think he’s done well.”
What has particularly liked about him? "He’s grabbed the game and taken his chance, and that’s the most impressive thing.
"He’s taken his chance and now that I know he can go and handle men’s football and that’s all that I ever wanted from the kids is show me what you can do.
"It’s the same with [Armando] Dobra, same with Idris [El Mizouni] and Tommy Hughes, they’ve given me something and as I said before, it might just save the club a lot of money.”
Does he view McGavin, the son of former Colchester and Birmingham forward and ex-Blues academy recruitment head Steve, as a similar player to Cole Skuse? "I never compare players because that’s unfair. He’s his own player, he’s his own man and he’ll develop.
"He’s got a really good range of passing, but to compare him to any other player I think is wrong.”
He says he’d have no qualms about involving the Bury-born youngster in League One: "No, not now because he’s proved it to me and I know what he can do.
"But as I said before, there are lads there playing really, really well at the minute, so he’s going to have to get going, but the good thing is he’s shown me that he can handle the environment to go and play.”