McLeish ponders start for Benitez
Blues boss Alex McLeish is mulling over whether to give a full debut to record signing Christian Benitez in the Premier League clash with Portsmouth.
Benitez has signed initially on loan in a deal which could eventually be worth around £7m from Mexican club Santos Laguna.
His pre-season work was put on hold because of the protracted nature of the deal and while he recovered from a shoulder operation.
But the Ecuador international impressed as a substitute during the second half of Sunday's single goal defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford and came close to grabbing a shock equaliser.
McLeish said: "Will we start with Benitez? We are tempted but we have to be sure he is ready. He is close.
"We will mull it over but he is still an unknown quantity in this country.
"We have seen him in action in the South American Championship, playing for his club team and Ecuador, but now he has got the big challenge of doing it in the toughest league in the world.
"He is small, he can turn defenders. We haven't seen a lot of him football-wise in the last four or five months.
"He has only played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors match last week and 20 minutes at Old Trafford. He is very short of match fitness.
"It is about the match sharpness now and the fans got a wee glimpse of him at the weekend and were quite excited by what they saw."
McLeish is still hoping to complete the signing of Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel in a £3million deal.
