Birmingham City are closing in on the signing of Arsenal centre Auston Trusty, a report from Birmingham Live has revealed.

Trusty joined Arsenal from Colarado Rapids back in the January transfer window, before spending the first half of 2022 back on loan with the MLS side in his native America.

In total, the defender had 112 MLS appearances for Philadelhpia Union and Colarado since 2018, while he has also been capped at youth level by the USA.

Now however, it looks as though the 23-year-old is set to get his first experience of English football this season, with a temporary stint in the Championship.

According to this latest update, Birmingham are lining up a loan move for Trusty, as they look to bolster their squad for the coming campaign.

The Blues have already made two first-team signings this summer, with winger Przemyslaw Placheta and defender Dion Sanderson joining on loan from Norwich and Wolves respectively, the latter for a second spell at St Andrew's.

The Verdict

This does look as though it could be a rather useful signing for Birmingham.

The Midlands club are arguably short of some experience in the centre of defence, particularly if Harlee Dean was to move on this summer amid the uncertainty around his future.

Trusty would therefore give them a welcome option in that position, having got plenty of game time over in the states, and his physicality means he could well hold his own in the Championship.

Given this would give the centre back the chance to adapt to English football before battling for a place with Arsenal as well, this could be a deal that suits all parties involved in it.