Sitting 18th in the Sky Bet Championship, Birmingham City are set for another season of struggle unless they can force a miraculous turn-around in form.

Aitor Karanka's men just can't string wins together and recent drubbings from Middlesbrough and Derby County - both coming at St. Andrews - have seen fans questioning the manager and the players.

A club with an esteemed academy, Birmingham are always looking to blood youngsters through into the first team, and the most recent example has seen teenage sensation Jude Bellingham depart for Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee.

And it may now be time to start getting the next stars ready for first team action, because if you're good enough you're old enough.

So let's look at three Blues starlets that may be ready to shine in 2021 under Karanka - or perhaps another manager if results continue to spiral.

Caolan Boyd-Munce

The Northern Irishman has been in Birmingham's matchday squad multiple times this season and even got 90 minutes against Bournemouth back in November to add to his six appearances in the 2019/20 campaign.

Turning 21 later this month, it's still not too late for Boyd-Munce to make a breakthrough and fans are keen to see him given more of a chance.

And with the form the current first team are showing, can you blame them?

Amari Miller

A second-year scholar at the Blues, Miller is a free-scoring attacking midfielder and he was included in a first team pre-season friendly in the summer against Walsall.

That shows that Karanka and other Birmingham staff must rate him very highly, and his performances for both the under-18's and under-23's show he's got an incredibly promising future.

If he continues to score at youth level, a first team call-up beckons for Miller.

Jobe Bellingham

We can't create this list without talking about the younger Bellingham brother, who turns 16 years of age in September.

Bellingham has been firing in the goals already for Birmingham's under-18 side and has already represented England at youth level.

Jude was in Birmingham's first team not long after his 16th birthday, so if Jobe's development continues in the same way then he could be scoring goals in the Championship at the beginning of next season.