Blues boss Kieran McKenna is very happy with the signing of Leif Davis, while he says Idris El Mizouni, who was absent from today’s squad, is close to going out on loan.
"Very happy with him as a signing,” McKenna said regarding Davis, who joined the Blues from Leeds yesterday. "He’s someone that we’ve watched a lot and know, we think, very well.
"He ticks all the boxes that we’re looking for, really good age, lots of room to grow and improve, hungry to establish his career now and get a run of games and see what level he can hit.
"A fantastic athlete, a really good runner, good speed, good speed endurance, excellent at getting up and down the line and has a really good left foot. Ticks a lot of boxes for us and someone that we were really keen to bring in.
"It wasn’t an easy one to get done, the club worked very hard on it and we think he’s going to be a good addition for us for now.
"But also he’s a very young player still and hasn’t played a whole catalogue of games in his career, so he’s going to need lots of support, he’s going to need encouragement and patience at times from everyone, which is the case for all young players but we think that if he can reach anywhere near his potential then we’ve got a really good prospect on our hands.”
Davis missed the 3-1 victory over Southend having only just returned from Australia where he had been on tour with Leeds, while midfielder Idris El Mizouni was also not included.
"Idris is someone we’re speaking to at the moment about his pathway for the season,” McKenna said.
"There’s lots of loan interest in Idris, obviously he’s a very good player, nothing confirmed, nothing very, very, very close at the moment but he’s someone who we’re actively speaking with and looking at his current situation for getting games this year. So there might be an update on that in the next few days possibly.”
Tranmere were among those keen on the Tunisia international, however, their interest is understood to have cooled since they signed ex-Blue Jon Nolan, but we understand Leyton Orient and Crewe Alexandra are among the other sides who want to take the Paris-born schemer on loan.
McKenna says he’s not anticipating any more additions before the season opener against Bolton on Saturday with Leicester striker George Hirst Town’s top target and former loanee Bersant Celina also still of interest.
"Before the weekend I would say extremely doubtful,” he said. "This is the squad that we have going into Saturday and I’m happy with what we have.”