Blues man ready for big Wembley date with the Saddlers

THE two seismic moments in George Hall's fledgling career have come almost exactly two years apart.

- ALEX DICKEN

In 2023, as a supremely talented 18-year-old, Hall had a bunch of Premier League clubs trying to lure him away from Birmingham City when he was crowned the club's Young Player of the Year after excelling in 30 games in the Championship under John Eustace.

Fast-forward two years and Hall is about to play the biggest game of his career albeit at a level beneath his ability - in the League Two play-off final at Wembley.

A talent forgotten by some due to a truly awful run of hamstring injuries will have his day in the sun for loan club Walsall with whom Hall has rediscovered his confidence and belief in his body.

The Saddlers take on AFC Wimbledon tomorrow afternoon (3pm) for a place in League One.

"At the start of the season, I'd had a lot of injuries last year so I wasn't fully confident and going 100 per cent," Hall says frankly from Walsall's training base in Essington.

"My confidence grew with work on the training pitch more than anything, trusting myself and going all out in training, then I started playing better and getting my chances in games and showing what I can do."

Mat Sadler, the former Blues defender turned Walsall head coach, has been crucial for Hall.