Birmingham City have confirmed that Josh Andrews has joined Rochdale on a season-long loan.

The 19-year-old local lad has been with Blues since he was a kid but he has understandably found it tough to break into the first-team, with his minutes last season coming with the U23s, where he generally impressed.

Therefore, a loan move is seen as good for his development and the club announced today that Andrews has signed for the League Two side for the rest of the campaign.

The powerful attacker will hope to make his mark in the fourth tier for Dale as they look to win promotion following a disappointing season last time out that saw them relegated.

Blues will surely be monitoring the progress of the teenager over the season and the player will know that a good year with Rochdale could see him get closer to Lee Bowyer's team in 12 months time.

Andrews could make his debut for his new club when they take on Scunthorpe at home this weekend.

The verdict

This is a very good move for Andrews as he is going to benefit from playing in such a competitive league instead of at U23 level.

It's a great chance for him to show what he can do on a consistent basis and it will be down to the player to force his way into Rochdale's XI and score goals.

Birmingham will be wanting to see how he develops over the next year and it's ultimately now on Andrews to take this chance and to make a name for himself whilst with Rochdale.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.