Birmingham City loan signing Matt Derbyshire eyes permanent move
Birmingham City’s latest recruit Matt Derbyshire has set his sights on a permanent return to the English Premier League after arriving at St Andrews on loan from Olympiakos. The striker has penned a season-long temporary contract, with the option to make the switch permanent, at St Andrews from the Greek club.
The 24-year-old told BBC WM that: "The targets for me are to start playing well, helping the team to win and hopefully making the loan deal permanent. It's important to show the manager and the fans what I can do. I'm ready and it's all down to the manager to say if I'm ready."
Derbyshire looks set to make his debut against his former club Blackburn Rovers this weekend and is ready to make an impact. He started out his career with Blackburn but could not claim a regular place in the starting line-up. The striker moved to Olympiakos on loan in January 2009 and after a successful spell which saw him help the club lift the Greek Cup, he joined the Greek outfit on a permanent basis last summer.
Missed 'mentality'
However, Derbyshire’s move to Greece made him miss the "the mentality of the English game" and he said he was glad to be back on British soil. He added that: "I'm glad I had the opportunity and I'm glad that I went, but I'm a Birmingham player now and I'm very excited."
Meanwhile, Blues manager Alex McLeish told of his delight at capturing the player. A lack of goals prevented Birmingham from finishing in a European qualification spot in the league last season and McLeish believes Derbyshire can help his side progress. He said that: "I think he's a decent finisher and if we can get the service to Matt he can score goals because that's his main strength. He's also got intelligence on the field and make the runs across the line and in behind and he mixes his game up." McLeish added that Derbyshire was in contention to play in the Blackburn game this weekend.
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