Stourbridge FA Cup goal hero Dan Scarr nets deal with Birmingham City

STOURBRIDGE defender Dan Scarr has swapped the Evo-Stik NPL Premier for the Championship after putting pen to paper on a deal with Birmingham City.

The central defender, 22, had been the subject of interest from a number of Football League clubs and recently spent time on trial at Premier League outfit West Brom.

He then trained with Birmingham and did enough to impress the coaching staff at St Andrew’s to be offered a two-and-a-half year deal after the clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.

Scarr joined Stourbridge in the summer of 2015 from Redditch United and went on to make 84 appearances for the Glassboys, scoring an impressive 11 goals.

His biggest came earlier this month when he equalised against Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup third round before Stourbridge were beaten late on.

His performances this season in the Cup, where Stourbridge shocked League One side Northampton, and in the league got people talking and he has earned a move into the professional game.

Stourbridge boss Gary Hackett told the club’s website: “We are all thrilled for Dan. He’s a great lad and he deserves this chance. I said to him at the start of the season that if he got his head down and worked hard he could be playing in the Football League, and not just at the lower levels.

“I honestly think he’s got huge potential and I think he can go on to great things. He’s improved hugely over the last eighteen months or so.

“He’s been so consistent in his performances, never panics on the ball, and he’s been a very important part of some great times for us, especially this season. I can’t speak highly enough of him.”

Birmingham’s senior professional development coach Richard Beale added: “Dan is a commanding centre-back who is an organiser and a leader and reads the game very well and is dominant in the air.

“I personally have watched him develop in local and Non-League football over a number of years and he’s really come to the fore this year and I thought if we could get him for a decent deal then he’d be worth a punt.

“Leadership qualities like he has are hard to find these days and on top of that he can play and he’s composed on the ball.”