Blues have appointed Scott Sellars as their new under-21s head coach.
The former Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers winger replaces Mark Kennedy, who exited the club in February.
Sellars, 60, has vast experience in youth development football, as well at first team level.
He spent five years at Manchester City, joining as under-18s coach and rising to head of academy coaching before leaving in April 2014.
Then it was onto Wolverhampton Wanderers where he coached the under-18s, under-23s and was promoted to head of academy player development and then head of Academy, where he also had responsibility for loan players and scouting.
He left Molineux as technical director in November 2022 after eight years services all told.
Chairman Jeff Shi replaced Sellars, after almost two years as technical director, with Matt Hobbs as part of a restructure in the wake of Julen Lopetegui’s appointment as first team head coach.
Sellars is well known to Academy technical director Mike Rigg through their Manchester City days as well as head of academy coaching Mike Scott, through Scott’s time at Wolves.
His most recent position was as sporting director of Al Jazira in the United Arab Emirates.
His role at Blues will be more wide-ranging than simply managing the fortunes of the under-21s in PL2.
Blues advertised the position as Senior Pathway to Professional and Under-21s Coach.
The successful candidate being 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’.
Sellars playing career spanned 20 years and he made just shy of 550 appearances for eight clubs.
Sellars’ appointment comes at a time when Blues have decided to restructure coaching positions in the Academy.
They are advertising for a lead under-18s coach and a lead under-16s coach – two other critical roles.
Academy technical director Mike Rigg, writing on LinkedIn, said the jobs had become available following ‘some internal movement’.
