Former Aston Villa and Stoke City figure leaves Leicester City to join Birmingham City

Birmingham City's coaching staff is beginning to take shape after Ben Petty was appointed as Assistant Manager.

Petty is reuniting with head coach Chris Davies at St Andrew's after working together at Leicester City. Petty was head coach of the Foxes' under-21s team for two seasons after previously working as assistant manager. He helped play a key role in developing young players which would go on to play under the first-team under Brendan Rodgers and Davies.

“Firstly, Ben is an exceptional coach and his record of developing and improving players, speaks for itself,” said head coach Chris Davies to the official club website.

"Equally as important to me, is that he is exactly the type of character who will help bring success to the club. His work ethic, standards and values reflect what I believe in and what we want to add to the culture here."

The 47-year-old came through the youth ranks at inter-city rivals Aston Villa, and went on to play for Stoke City and Hull City. His playing career mainly saw him play in the non-league for the likes of Stafford Rangers, Moor Green, Burton Albion and Redditch United.

After retiring, he took on a coaching job with Aston Villa, and worked his way up through the academy structure. For the past eight years, he’s been at Leicester City and has been credited with bringing through the likes of Ben Nelson, Kasey McAteer, Wanya Marcal, Will Alves, and Sammy Braybrooke who all went on to play for the Foxes first-team.