Blues centre-half Richard Keogh says young midfielder Cameron Humphreys impressed him as soon as he joined the club in the summer and sees similarities with a former Derby County teammate.
Having made his first senior appearances last season, 19-year-old academy product Humphreys has been in and around the team throughout this campaign and with Lee Evans and Dominic Ball out injured is currently starting in central midfield alongside skipper Sam Morsy.
"He’s a really humble guy, which first and foremost I really liked about him,” Keogh said.
"First couple of training sessions, I loved him really. I said, I think it might have been to [assistant manager] Martyn Pert, ’I’m having this Humphreys guy! Put him on my team a couple more times!’ because you just get a feeling towards players, just how humble he is and you just get that feeling that he wants to work really hard on his game.
"You could tell he had really good quality and he’s shown that when he’s out on the pitch. He’s playing very maturely.”
Keogh draws comparisons with Humphreys and Will Hughes, currently in the Premier League with Crystal Palace, when he was coming through at Pride Park a decade ago.
"He reminds me a little bit of a lad I played with at Derby, Will Hughes,” he said. "Both left-footed, similar, obviously different players, Will’s an excellent player, and I can see little similarities in how they play, how they receive the ball and more probably how they play for their age.
"Will was very like that as a 17, 18-year-old, he played well above his years. I see Cam play like that, he plays with real maturity and that’s quite rare in a young player and that will give him a really good baseline to hopefully have a great career.
"I just love his work ethic and I love how humble he is as a guy, he really wants to learn and when you’ve got that growth mindset, the world’s your oyster really.
"It’s great seeing him play, he’s taken his chance really well, he’s really enjoying it. Credit to him and it’s great for the football club as well, someone who has come through the academy, I think everyone can buy into that as well.
"Really like how he’s progressing. I think if you speak to him he’s got more to improve, he’s got to keep striving every day and that’s what people like me are getting on to him about but when you see someone with that work ethic, it’s great.
"It’s a joy to be around them when you know they’re really willing to learn and listen. Credit to him and hopefully there are many more games for him to come.”
Despite his youth, Humphreys is no shrinking violet on the pitch, having handed out tongue-lashings to his more senior teammates, including skipper Morsy, in recent matches.
"I think that’s what happens when you play games,” Keogh smiled. "Sometimes there’s no better learning stage than when you actually play.
"Sometimes you need to make mistakes to get better, it’s the only way you do. I think when you’re in the rhythm of games and the emotion takes over, you just get involved in the game and it’s great.
"He plays with real maturity, just plays with real humility and I just love that. I just love players who just give their all every day and play with humility and try and get the best out of themselves.
"That’s what I’ve done throughout my career, just tried to get the best out of myself, so I think naturally you gravitate towards people like that.
"It’s great to see him developing, he’s got a long road head, he’s only at the start of his journey and he knows that he needs to keep being consistent and I’m sure he’ll keep trying to do that, and hopefully have a really successful career with this football club.”