Birmingham City have recently completed a deal to sign Dion Sanderson on a season-long loan deal from Wolves. 

Sanderson caught the eye with a number of impressive performances on loan with Sunderland last season, although his efforts weren't quite enough, as the Black Cats missed out on promotion after a defeat to Lincoln City in their play-off semi-final.

Sanderson has been attracting interest from the likes of Sheffield United and Sunderland during the summer, but it's Birmingham that have won the race to land his signature on a temporary basis.

The Blues finished 18th in the Championship table last season, and will be hoping that Sanderson can hit the ground running with them this term.

Speaking in an interview with BluesTV (quotes sourced from Birmingham's official website), Sanderson expressed his delight at completing the move to Lee Bowyer's side, and is keen to establish himself relatively quickly at St. Andrew's.

"I am delighted and so excited. Once I heard the news, I couldn’t wait to get it done. As soon as I came in today, I have just had a big smile on my face. It’s unbelievable to be here.

"I think they have a great team [here] and it’s a big Club. Hopefully, it’s a chance for me to play, to impress the Head Coach and help the team out and fight their way up the table.

"I’m a quick centre-half that likes to play football, technically I think I am very good, but I am aggressive as well and don’t like to give strikers any chances.

"Everyone wants to play football and be in the starting XI. There’s always going to be competition but as long as it’s healthy competition, then it’s good competition in my eyes."

Sanderson could be in line to make his competitive Birmingham City debut on Saturday 7th August, when the Blues take on Sheffield United, in what is likely to be a tricky test at Bramall Lane.

The Verdict: 

This is a great bit of business by the Blues.

Sanderson has shown that he's more than capable of performing to a good enough standard in the Championship, having impressed me at that level whilst with Cardiff City.

But his versatility whilst with Sunderland really caught the eye, and Birmingham have done exceptionally well to finalise a deal and beat a number of teams in landing his signature on a temporary basis this summer.

If Sanderson can replicate the type of performances we saw from him whilst at Sunderland, then the Blues will have a player with real talent on their hands.

It's an exciting time to be a Birmingham City supporter, as they look to challenge higher up the second-tier standings this season.