Wolverhampton Wanderers are considering recalling Dion Sanderson in January as they prepare for a centre-back shortage that month.

The 21-year-old is highly-rated at Molineux and impressed on loan at Sunderland last season, before joining Birmingham City for the current campaign, where he has done well again after forcing his way into the XI.

Whilst he's at St. Andrew's for the campaign, Wolves have a recall option and The Athletic have revealed that there's a chance it will be triggered in the New Year.

That's because Bruno Lage is going to have to do without Romain Saiss and Willy Boly who will be away for the African Cup of Nations with Morocco and Ivory Coast respectively, with the players expected to depart around December 28th for the tournament.

The report explains how Wolves are unlikely to spend big on a new defender until the summer, so Sanderson could be called back to feature in January.

However, there's still a chance the Premier League side could decide to send Sanderson back out on loan before the window shuts.

Blues are already set to lose one loan player when the window opens, with Riley McGree set to go back to parent club Charlotte FC.

The verdict

This is always the concern for loan players and you'd have to say that it seems likely Wolves will bring Sanderson back because Yerson Mosquera is out for months as well, so they will be very short in that department, and that's without any further injuries.

Clearly, it would be a blow for Birmingham because Sanderson has done well in defence with his athleticism and composure on the ball a big asset to the team.

The main hope for Blues is that even if he does return, they will be in the position to get him back before the window shuts again.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.