Dion Sanderson, Alfons Sampsted and Emil Hansson played for Birmingham City against Solihull Moors on Wednesday
Birmingham City reporter for BirminghamLive and the Birmingham Mail
Emil Hansson of Birmingham City
Out-of-favour trio Dion Sanderson, Alfons Sampsted and Emil Hansson kickstarted their pre-season with 45 minutes against Solihull Moors on Wednesday night.
A Birmingham City XI including Sanderson, Sampsted and Hansson took to the field at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park for the rescheduled Arthur Cup match.
Chris Davies has deemed Sanderson, Sampsted and Hansson surplus to requirements meaning this was their first chance to play in pre-season. All three are expected to secure moves away from Blues this summer.
Here is how they got on against Moors…
Dion Sanderson
To Sanderson’s credit, he was a reliable last line of defence on more than one occasion in the first half when one of his younger teammates overplayed.
The former Blues skipper cleared up the danger well and covered across to protect makeshift left-back Menzi Mazwi when necessary.
Sanderson looked comfortable in possession, albeit he could have played forward quicker on occasions. He did overhit one long pass to George Hall by some distance.
Alfons Sampsted
Sampsted appeared the rustiest of Blues’ senior trio against Moors before he scored a superb volley on the stroke of half-time. He occupied his usual position high on the right before racing back to defence when Blues lost possession.
Some of his touches were loose, which is probably to be expected given his lack of match minutes, and he wasn’t physically superior to Blues’ National League opponents.
But his well-placed volley just before half-time would have impressed any scouts watching at St Andrew’s.
Emil Hansson
Hansson was the sharpest of Blues’ senior trio. He went close to scoring himself before creating Sampsted’s goal with a brilliant piece of wing-play which saw him beat his man twice to pick Sampsted out with a pinpoint cross.
The twinkle-toed Swede clearly has ability – we just didn’t see enough of it in League One last season for him to merit a place in a squad aiming for promotion from the Championship.
Should Blues keep any of the trio? Let us know your thoughts HEREGet the latest Blues headlines sent straight to your phone
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