Marc Roberts will know Dan Crowley better than most in the Birmingham City dressing room, and the former Barnsley man has been full of praise for the 22-year-old. 

Roberts spent two years at Barnsley before making the move to the West Midlands to join up with Birmingham and it was at Barnsley where Roberts and Crowley first played together, when Crowley joined up as a 17-year-old on loan from Arsenal.

Roberts discusses what Crowley was like during his Barnsley spell and told Birmingham Live, "When he came to Barnsley he was only 17 and very immature. He’d come from a big club and did have a bit of an attitude, so to speak.

“But seeing him in training at Barnsley, at 17-years-old he was unbelievable and you knew he had talent.

“Obviously it was a bit disappointing not seeing him kick on from there. He didn’t really fit into our team, so we did send him back."

Since then, Crowley and Roberts have re-united at Birmingham five years later and Marc Roberts said that he always thought Crowley would be a good player once he found the right team.

Roberts told Birmingham Live, "I always knew that if he got a team that fitted right for him then he would be a good player and I think you can see that he does fit into how we want to play here.

“In the games when we have played to his strengths and got him on the ball, especially against Derby, you can see he’s very talented.

“He has matured a lot as a lad and as a footballer, I think the more games he plays for us the better he will get.”

The Verdict

Dan Crowley has started brightly at Birmingham and may well have found the club where he can now push on to be a top player, and possibly attract interest from the Premier League.

Roberts' evaluation of Crowley is a fair one and he has now matured into an exciting young player that Birmingham fans can be thrilled about having as part of their squad.