Blues promotion hero Darren Carter is back at the club.
The former midfielder has been appointed Academy transition, loan and player development manager.
He will primarily be responsible for placing Blues brightest young talents on appropriate loans as part of establishing a loans programme for Under-18s – Under-21s.
But he will also be a bridge between Academy and first team to try and help develop pathways and involvement for prospects with the potential to meet the manager’s senior squad needs.
Carter will be expected to support players transitioning out of the Academy as well as well as assist in their advancement towards first team inclusion.
Blues have never had a full-time loan manager before.
Former captain and a teammate of Carter, Martin O’Connor, was Blues loan manager for just shy of four years until leaving midway through last season, but he was part-time.
Carter famously fired in the clinching penalty against Norwich City in the 2002 Championship Play-Off Final to send Blues to the top-flight after a 17-year absence.
And he will know all about what is needed for Academy players to flourish after breaking through at his home-town club under Steve Bruce as an 18-year-old that season.
Ironically, the job marks a return to Wast Hills – now the Knighthead Performance Centre – for Carter after he was based there as Blues Women manager between 2021 – 2024.
Blues are still searching for an Under-21s head coach following Mark Kennedy’s exit in February. His assistant Danny Barham stepped up to take control for the remainder of the season, with head of Academy coaching Mike Scott.
Blues recently advertised the role as Senior Pathway to Professional and Under-21s Coach, a more wide-ranging brief.
The successful candidate will be expected to provide ‘strategic oversight across the Under-15s – Under-21s programme’ and ‘drive the implementation of a high-performance environment that maximises player development, supports progression, and ensures alignment with First Team football.
Both that job and Carter’s will be challenging at present.
Discounting 29-year-old Demarai Gray who re-joined last summer, Blues have not given any minutes in the league to an Academy product for the past two seasons.
A raft of Blues stronger Under-21s were released in May and it appears next season’s Under-21s and Under-18s are going to have a very youthful and inexperienced look about them.
And whilst rival Category One outfits have loan departments with dedicated staff and historical relationships and reputational successes with a wide range of clubs, Blues have for years been hamstrung and effectively doing what they can.
Carter’s role at least shows that Blues are now prepared to invest, up their game and compete as the Academy continues to undergo an overhaul following securing elite status a year ago.
However, though, the Academy has suffered an unexpected blow through the departure of Wez Awad, the head of Academy player recruitment.
Blues restructure for Category One included the creation of his post, plus national scouts – full-time – for the north and south of the country.
Awad left Crystal Palace after six years, where he rose to director of Academy recruitment, to join Blues in November. But he has tendered his resignation. It is understood he could be in line to move to a Premier League club.
The intention for Blues under Awad was to identify and sign players for the Academy from other clubs, primarily in the Youth Development and Professional Development Phases, and tempt the best releases to Wast Hills.
Blues have not previously been in a position, or willing, to pay compensation. In fact, they have lost several young talents over recent years from various age groups to predatory clubs, locally and nationally.
As of yet, Blues have not made any moves in the recruitment market themselves since becoming Category One, despite doing plenty of groundwork towards that end.
