Emanuel Aiwu has received a ton of praise from Mark Venus for coming through for Birmingham City when they needed him.
Due to injuries to Krystian Bielik and Marc Roberts, who could make a return on Saturday against Millwall after participating in training, the Austrian defender has been drafted into the starting lineup. Aiwu was the only available center back for the Blues against Hull City in the midweek match due to Dion Sanderson’s suspension, and he put up what was possibly his greatest performance since joining from Cremonese.
In the second half, Aiwu prevented Hull star Jaden Philogene from forcing a one-on-one with goalkeeper John Ruddy by making multiple smart tackles and exhibiting good posture. Additionally, he completed 94% of his passes and maintained focus throughout the entire game to make sure Ozan Tufan only controversially broke through the Blues’ net once. After having to wait his turn under Tony Mowbray and Venus, Aiwu can finally make his move. Venus thinks Aiwu is getting paid for his professionalism and patience.
