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Birmingham City are one of the most exciting promoted teams in the Championship for a long time.
Backed incredibly well by owner Tom Wagner throughout this summer, Blues are quickly becoming a genuine top six contender in the second tier.
Tommy Doyle has already spoken about promotion, but Chris Davies will not want his players to get too far ahead of themselves, despite some stunning signings in recent weeks, including Kyogo Furuhashi.
Nevertheless, the arrival of Eiran Cashin on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion is a statement of intent from Birmingham. Yet, there is one issue that will still be a cause for concern at St. Andrew’s.
Chris Davies casts doubts on Eiran Cashin playing at left-back for Birmingham City
Cashin has spent the vast majority of his career at Derby County, however, he left the Rams in January for Brighton where he has struggled to establish himself in the Premier League.
Yet, he is a very capable centre-back, and as he is left-footed, he does have an advantage compared to some of his teammates. But, Birmingham are struggling for depth at left-back with Lee Buchanan still injured while Alex Cochrane has taken full responsibility in the position.
However, Davies is not sure whether Cashin can feature at left-back as cover. He said (via: Birmingham Live): “Lee is a good few months away. You could see at the end (of the Port Vale friendly) that I was concerned with Alex about getting an injury so yes, we do need another left-back.
“I think he [Eiran Cashin] could do it. I haven’t put him as an option there. I think that would be pretty much a last resort because he hasn’t done a load of it. He’s a centre-back. Although he’s maybe just under six feet, I think he jumps higher than anyone in our squad which is why he wins all his headers or a lot of them.
“You can read a bit into his height but he will always compete well in the air. He’s strong on the ball and has a good left foot. What I want from the centre-backs is that they defend first and are strong physically.”
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Eiran Cashin should not be played at left-back
While it may seem a natural area of the pitch for Cashin to operate in, the 23-year-old has very rarely featured at left-back in his career so far.
The ex-Derby ace lacks pace and would struggle to contain opposition wingers if they are able to find a way past him on that side, while his ability to get forward into attacking positions is not a strength.
Cashin is very much an old-school centre-back and he must not be played out of his comfort zone if Birmingham want to get the best out of their loanee.
Brighton will also not be very impressed if Davies forces the Republic of Ireland international hopeful out wide, and Blues may have difficulty developing his game at full-back.