Birmingham City boss Pep Clotet has praised Jake Clarke-Salter as the centre-back prepares to continue in Harlee Dean's absence against Huddersfield tomorrow.

The England youth international arrived at St. Andrew's on loan from Chelsea in the summer but he has found it hard to break the Dean and Marc Roberts partnership.

An injury to the latter provided Clarke-Salter with his league debut against Wigan last month and Dean's red card against Cardiff at the start of November meant he would get three games in a row to show his ability.

The first of those came against Fulham last time out and Clotet told the club's media he was pleased with how the 22-year-old adapted to the challenge of playing against the lethal Aleksandar Mitrovic.

"It was not easy for Jake, he played against Wigan and then comes up against Fulham, who have one of the best attacks in the league, he did very well in the circumstances, he offers different things to Harlee, his pace and his offensive capabilities."

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Therefore, Clarke-Salter is sure to continue alongside Roberts for the game against the Terriers.

The verdict

This will give the defender a confidence boost going into the fixture and he should also take encouragement from the way he performed against the Cottagers.

It's tough for someone coming in for one game and having that pressure to perform straight away, so the fact he knows he will play the next two should help him.

Then, it's down to Clarke-Salter to play well to give Clotet a decision to make when Dean returns.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.