Birmingham City boss Gianfranco Zola will look to bring players on loan from his former club Chelsea in January, according to the Birmingham Mail.

The Italian replaced Gary Rowett at the helm of the Championship club last week and suffered a 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in his first game in charge on the weekend.

The Blues are currently placed eighth in the league table and are one of the contenders for the playoff spots, prompting Zola to look to Stamford Bridge for some loan assistance from the Premier League leaders.

"If we believe that in Chelsea there might be players that can help, then we can ask," said Zola.

"We have a good relationship with them."

Youngsters such as Ola Aina, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Nathaniel Chalobah and Dom Solanke are among those Birmingham could be targeting.