Teenage Arsenal ace set for Birmingham loan move

Birmingham have opened talks with Arsenal over a loan move for striker Benik Afobe.

England Under-19 starlet Afobe is all but certain to leave the Emirates on loan this summer, as he seeks to rebuild his blossoming reputation, following nine months out with a knee injury last term.

Afobe picked up the problem in pre-season last year, but returned to finish the campaign on loan at Reading, where he featured three times as they cruised to promotion to the Premier League.

However, the 19-year-old is set to be handed another crack at the Championship, with Birmingham
lodging a tentative enquiry last month, and now following it up as manager Lee Clark looks to shape his squad ahead of the new season.

Clark is no stranger to Afobe, having signed him for Huddersfield in 2010, where he scored eight goals in 32 matches, during three different spells throughout that season.

A fast, powerful and instinctive striker, Afobe will sort out his future when he returns to London for training next week, after featuring for England at the Under-19 Euros in Estonia.