Done deal: Another youngster heads out

Emmanuel Longelo has left West Ham to join Birmingham on loan.

The 21-year-old is set to spend the rest of the season with the Championship club after struggling to make a breakthrough at the Hammers.

Longelo has made just two senior appearances for the Hammers, playing 90 minutes in the Europa League against Dinamo Zagreb last season.

He has been a fixture for the youth sides, playing 72 times for the U21s and 34 times for the U18s.

Longelo has not been loaned out previously and will be hoping to play regularly during his time with the second-tier Blues.

Birmingham have embarked on a major recruitment drive this summer, signing seven players in total, but they have struggled throughout the first few weeks of the Championship season.

They have won just one of their seven games, drawing two and losing four, and Longelo will aim to help turn their fortunes around in the Championship.

Quoted by BBC Sport, he said: “I am here to play games and get experience as well.

“To come to a team like Birmingham, it will help me develop a lot.”