Josh Dacres-Cogley really is one of Birmingham City's own.

Born in the West Midlands, the right-back first joined the Blues back in 2011 as a young teenager and managed to progress well enough at St Andrew's to extend his stay there, waiting patiently for his first-team chance as he rose through the ranks.

He managed to get his first taste of senior football back in the pre-season period of 2016, linking up with the second-tier side's first-team squad as one of three luck Under-21s and impressing coaches in the West Midlands, doing more than enough to keep himself in then-manager Gary Rowett's thoughts.

With this, he made his debut for the Blues in August of the same year in the first round of the Carabao Cup against Oxford United, going on to make 17 competitive appearances that term and looking as though he could be the club's future first-choice right-back.

At the end of the 2016/17 campaign, turning 21 during the season, the future looked bright for the full-back at St Andrew's.

But this was as good as it got for Dacres-Cogley, despite signing a new three-and-a-year half deal in February 2017 and being the subject of interest from Premier League clubs including Southampton around that time.

His contract was extended by a further season in 2019 before going out on loan to fourth-tier outfit Crawley Town, but only made 16 appearances for the Sussex-based side due to a fractured ankle and the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It seemed as though he may have been able to salvage his career at the end of last term, when manager Lee Bowyer gave some of his fringe players a go in the final two games of the season after securing Championship survival.

But he was released on the expiration of his contract in the summer, joining Tranmere Rovers on a two-year contract and enjoying regular first-team football at Prenton Park so far during this campaign.

Starting all 14 games in League Two for Rovers during 2021/22 and aged just 25, he still has the ability to climb back up to the second tier and beyond. He may even be able to gain promotion with the Merseyside club, currently sitting in eighth place and conceding just eight goals in 14 matches.

That's an exceptional defensive record - and one the full-back will want to maintain.