Birmingham City have announced that they have exercised the option to extend the contracts of Ryan Stirk and Jayden Reid. 

Reid had previously been on the books with both Manchester United and Swansea City, and signed for the club in the summer of 2019 after impressing in a trial with the Blues.

He has gone on to score nine goals in total for the Birmingham Under-23s this season, and has been included in the first-team squads at times this season, although he is yet to make his debut for the senior side.

Whilst Stirk has been a regular for the Birmingham Under-23s team this term, and has captained that side at times during this year's campaign.

Birmingham's senior side have struggled for a positive run of results in their last few matches, and are now sat 16th in the Championship table with nine games remaining in this year's campaign.

Pep Clotet's side are without a win in their last six matches in all competitions, which has seen them drop down the second tier standings at an alarming rate.

The Blues were beaten 3-1 by Reading in their last match, although recent off-the-field events have called a halt to fixtures across the EFL, with no scheduled return date being set as of yet.

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The Verdict: 

This is a smart decision by Birmingham City.

Stirk and Reid have been impressive for the Blues' Under-23s side this season, and it's good to see that the club rate them highly to extend their contracts for another year.

It could be an interesting pre-season for the pair as well, as they look to stake a claim to fight their way into Pep Clotet's first-team plans.