Birmingham City are trying to harness the talents of Brighton loanee Ibrahim Osman in the Championship
06:00, 18 Mar 2026
Birmingham City are helping to develop Brighton starlet Ibrahim Osman
Chris Davies spent the first five minutes of Saturday’s draw with Sheffield United bellowing instructions at Ibrahim Osman.
The Birmingham City manager wants his wingers to arrive in the box and Osman was clearly a yard or two out of position.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Osman showed exactly why Davies picked him ahead of Demarai Gray.
He collected a first-time pass from Marvin Ducksch, shifted the ball beyond Femi Seriki and lashed a shot against the post.
Osman would later force a challenge from Seriki that would earn him a red card and give Blues a numerical advantage that they couldn’t capitalise on.
One criticism of Blues under Davies is that they can sometimes appear too structured and risk averse. Osman was signed in January to provide an unpredictable element and, when Blues are attacking at least, Davies is quite happy for him to show off his individuality.
“It’s really interesting when you think of players like that and the balance between the team’s structure and their own individual profile,” says Davies.
“I think his almost unorthodox ability… I don’t want to touch that. The way he receives the ball, the way he will try and turn, the way he uses his body, it looks scruffy but when you’re doing it all the time it’s not by accident.
“I really like that about him. I don’t want to over-coach him so he’s not got this attacking spirit because he wants to turn, he wants to run at players and take them on and I don’t want to lose that. You can almost coach them too much and they think about keeping the ball.
“We want him to take a risk. He will trip over and they will tackle him and it won’t look perfect every time, but if you’re a full-back going into a game against him, knowing the pace and unpredictability he’s got, it would be quite unnerving.
“My job is to guide him into the structure of the team and how he can use his best qualities, then a lot of it is defensively, there is no room for manoeuvre there. It’s this is your job, this is what you need to do and this is where you need to be and he has to buy into all of that.
“He has done that better than I even first gave him credit for. For example, if he has to jump up to a midfielder who has given them a line of three to build-up, he will jump up and know why he’s doing it. That’s been really impressive.
“He wants to press, hence his goal against Leicester. Let him be. Let him use his individual qualities because there is something different about him that not many have got at this level.”
OPINION
Alex Dicken
OPINION
Alex Dicken
There have been lapses in concentration on the defensive front. Some would say Osman wasn’t tight enough to Abdul Fatawu when the Leicester City winger lashed home at St Andrew’s last month. And there is no denying that he switched off when Femi Azeez’s long range free-kick struck the post for Millwall, allowing Tristan Crama to score unchallenged on the rebound.
But his shortcomings are countered by his ability to get bums off seats.
There were times last season, when Blues kept coming up against low blocks in League One, where Davies craved ‘chaos’ from his wingers.
Osman, more so than Gray, Patrick Roberts and Carlos Vicente, is that in a nutshell.
Davies added: “He does create chaos because he attracts people to him. It’s just the pace. With him, when he gets away he’s away, even against (Kayne) Ramsay at Charlton – not many go past him. He’s always done well against us. (Osman) got away from him.
“He’s as quick as any winger at this level, which is his greatest asset, so how can we use that.
“You can be too perfect around the box, it’s sometimes that chaotic nature that actually creates mini transitions when you lose the ball and get it back again, that can be crucial.
“Taking risks is in his nature and it’s my job to have the discipline as a coach not to coach that out of him.”
Ibrahim Osman of Birmingham City
Brighton shelled out £16million to sign the Ghana international from Nordsjælland two years ago and they rarely get transfers wrong.
Osman undeniably has Premier League potential but the 21-year-old is still rough around the edges.
You only need to watch highlights of Blues’ FA Cup exit to Leeds United to see Osman can be irresistible and erratic almost in the same breath.
The final action hasn’t always been precise, hence why he only has one goal and one assist to his name in 10 appearances for Blues, but Davies believes that refinement will come.
“It will 100 percent with him,” he predicts. “He’s diligent, very focused, and very professional. He will mature in that sense and grow as a player.
“But the key to his game will always be one-v-one skills and pace. He has Premier League pace – he is that quick.
“You’re never quite sure when they come in and he is quiet. The loan move in France didn’t go too well and he really wanted to make an impact, and I think he’s proven and shown that he can be a real threat at this level.
“Consistency is the ultimate test for all the young players. Can they keep producing it? He’s got to do that.”
If he does that, Osman won’t just have Premier League pace – he will be a Premier League player.
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