Hammers teenager Ravel Morrison will get vital match experience by dropping down to the Championship to join Birmingham City

West Ham youngster Ravel Morrison is set to join Championship club Birmingham City in a season-long loan deal.

The 19-year-old, who moved to Upton Park from Manchester United in an initial �650,000 deal last January, played just six minutes for the Hammers last season in a league game at Leeds United.

He was fined �7,000 for remarks he said on twitter even before he had made that West Ham debut, but despite his bad boy personna, the central midfielder is widely seen as a hot prospect for the future.

Morrison could make his Birmingham debut next Tuesday when Lee Clark’s side entertain Barnet in the first round of the Capital One Cup, before the Blues open their league action with a home game against Charlton Athletic on August 18.