Yahoo News Birmingham City sanction transfer for starlet Romelle Donovan
Romelle Donovan has been allowed to leave Birmingham City on loan as the club look to develop their highly-regarded teenager.
The 17-year-old, rated as the pick of the Wast Hills academy, will join Burton Albion for the 2024/25 season, the first loan of his hugely promising career.
Donovan was first called up to the senior squad by John Eustace in January 2023 but didn’t get on to the pitch, he was then included in last summer’s pre-season trip to Spain. But it was Wayne Rooney who handed him his debut, in his first home game in charge, a loss to Hull City.
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Rooney regularly praised Donovan and handed him each of his seven Championship appearances as well as his first professional contract. Tony Mowbray used the him in the FA Cup but neither he nor Gary Rowett called him up into league action again.
Donovan played a prominent role in pre-season under Chris Davies and featured in several warm-up games but has not made a match-day squad all so far.
Davies spoke recently of the need for players like Donovan and George Hall to experience first team football to progress their careers.
“For us it’s about game time more than anything else, otherwise they could hang around here and train with us and develop in that way. It’s about making sure they go somewhere they get the best chance to get minutes on the pitch.”
