Blues manager Kieran McKenna says young midfielder Idris El Mizouni is going to be an important member of the squad for the rest of the season.
The 21-year-old made his first appearance under McKenna at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday with the manager having previously said he had talked to the Tunisia international about going out on loan.
It’s understood a number of clubs showed interest in taking the Paris-born schemer for the second half of the season.
"We’re certainly to happy to have him and Idris is happy to be here,” McKenna said. "We spoke early in January about the possibility of him going out on loan.
"As we’ve said, the situation is fluid. We’ve had a couple of injuries and suspensions in that area of the pitch.
"Idris is a very strong player, a very versatile player, still a young player, who is improving, can be trusted to go in in any given game to do a job and to perform for the team.
"He’s been training very well, so when the opportunity came up for him to get minutes against Sheffield Wednesday, we had every confidence to put him in the team and I thought, especially coming in when he hasn’t played so much lately, I was happy with his performance and I think he’s going to be an important member of the squad for the rest of the season.
"We feel that he can contribute for us for the rest of the year but also for next season as well.”