Why Birmingham should keep hold of Romello Mitchell
As per a report from Daily Mail, Birmingham City’s teenage striker Romello Mitchell has emerged as a transfer target for Premier League heavyweights Liverpool and Manchester United.
The 16-year-old sensation has been in fine form for the Blues’ youth sides this season. His performances haven’t gone unnoticed, with a number of clubs from the Premier League and the EFL Championship monitoring the teenage starlet, chief among them being the two giant names mentioned above (h/t Daily Mail).
With the big clubs circling for his signing, should Birmingham allow Mitchell to leave the club or hold on to him? Born in 2003, Mitchell joined the Birmingham City academy at a young age and has risen through the ranks quite rapidly, impressing the coaches immensely along the way. The striker, who turned 16 earlier this month, broke into City’s U18 team this season and has been a regular goalscorer for Steve Spooner’s side.
Mitchell has mostly been used from the bench for the U18s, and he has made an impact from there as well, having scored against the likes of Sheffield United U18s, Nottingham Forest U18s. He recently scored in a 2-1 defeat for Birmingham’s U16s against Sheffield Wednesday as well.
The 16-year-old shone brightly in last month’s Blade Cup final for the U16 side against Liverpool, as he went to grab a brace, firing Birmingham to an 8-4 victory. The forward did make a strong impression in the semifinals against Manchester United U16s to further boost it.
Blessed with pace and power, Mitchell has demonstrated good finishing abilities for someone of his age and looks destined for a bright future. For that reason, Birmingham should look to hold on to him amidst interest from the bigwigs of English football.
Given the progress that he has shown through his youth career, the striker has a strong chance of breaking into the first-team at Birmingham in a couple of years, should he continue to perform as he has been doing. However, that is not likely to be the case if he decides to move to a bigger club like Liverpool or Manchester United.
Birmingham should use this to convince him to stay put at the club and continue his development. The 16-year-old has shown immense potential in his short time with the City’s U18 setup and the club could reap great rewards by holding on to him in the longer run.
