Birmingham City have confirmed that talented young defender Dominic Bernard has joined National League side Aldershot Town on loan.

The 21-year old has left St. Andrew's on a standard loan, which means that the deal will run to the end of January in 2019 when the clubs can reassess his future.

Bernard, who can play at left-back or in the middle of defence, is highly-rated at Blues but has suffered with injuries in the past, including damaging his Achilles tendon in late 2016 that kept him out for a year.

However, he returned in November, featuring for the U23s and clearly impressed as he did enough to land a new contract, which he signed earlier this year.

Yet, Garry Monk clearly thinks he will benefit from regular football now and he has linked up with the Shots ahead of their National League campaign.

Managed by Gary Waddock, they finished in the play-offs last season but ultimately lost out to Ebbsfleet and will be hoping to go one better this time around.

The Verdict

This seems a good move for all parties. Blues have a lot of talented players coming through, such as Wes Harding, but if you can't play for the club it's better to seek first-team football elsewhere.

That's what Bernard has done and the spell in the fifth-tier will really toughen him up and could improve his game as a result.

It's now down to the player to show what he can do as key figures at Blues will be monitoring his progress.

Thoughts, Birmingham fans? Let us know in the comments below.