Birmingham City goalkeeper coach Nigel Spink has declared Ghana international signing Richard Kingson is capable of making the No1 shirt his own.

Spink told the Birmingham Mail: "I went with our chief scout Bernard Paintin to Sweden four weeks ago to watch him play for Hammarby against Djurgardens.

"Reports we had of him and the DVDs we had seen were excellent. "He's an international goalkeeper with World Cup experience, so we thought he was worth having a look at.

"We knew a couple of other clubs were interested and Reading were out there while we were.

"Although he didn't have a lot of shots to save on the night, watching him warm-up and during the game it was clear he was very good technically.

"I reported back to the manager. He decided he wanted to carry three top-line goalkeepers this season and we decided to give Richard a chance to come over and prove himself."

Spink said that Kingson would need some time to adapt.

"It will be a little bit of a shock to him, we know that.

"The football in Sweden is not quite as quick as our Premier League, but it is quite physical.

"Every time Djurgardens had a corner against Hammarby they surrounded Richard but he came and punched everything and got involved in high balls.

"He is not as big as Maik or Doylie size-wise, but he certainly wasn't afraid to put himself about.

"He won't have experienced the pace of the game here, and he won't have experienced our February climate at Wast Hills either!"