Cardiff City's summer recruitment drive has shot out of the traps. Over the last week, they have confirmed four new signings with a flurry of excitement now building around the club.
After a drab, miserable campaign which saw Cardiff scrapping for their lives at the bottom of the table, Bluebirds fans have been in desperate need of positivity and they needed it quickly. Ever since Cardiff pulled themselves away from the drop zone in February and Championship status was mathematically secured thanks to the 2-1 win over Reading in April, all focus has zeroed in on the massive squad overhaul needed this summer.
And this is exactly the sort of start they needed. They've set their stall out early and the optics look good. There is a proactivity about Cardiff and a cogent plan now appears to be falling into place. There is a long, long way to go before a Championship-ready squad is assembled, of course, but all those words and promises Steve Morison made towards the back end of the season about what he wanted to get done this summer are quickly coming to fruition.
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Let's not beat around the bush, though, because it's an observation which has been made by many this week, the signings are not exactly household names. But Morison never promised they would be. "You might have to Google some of them!" he quipped during one or two of his pre-match press conferences towards the back end of the season.
The reality is, Cardiff are not in a position anymore to go out and make multi-million-pound transfers. It's not like Cardiff can just go and sign world-class players like Gareth B... OK, maybe that's a bad example at the minute. But the point is, the whole recruitment strategy has had to change and that is why we are seeing these signings flooding in from different divisions and even different countries.
The confirmed signings are Ebou Adams, who comes from League Two Forest Green Rovers, Jak Alnwick, from Scottish Premiership side St Mirren, Ollie Tanner, from Isthmian Premier Division side Lewes FC and Friday's announcement of Jamilu Collins, a left-back from SC Paderborn in the German second tier.
Quite the motley crew, you might think. But this has not just been thrown together at the last minute. Quite the contrary, in fact. All of these players have been trailed for months.
Morison and the club's head of recruitment, Kevin Beadell, have struck up quite the partnership in the last few months. They both seem to be working in smooth harmony, which is a pre-requisite given how creative Cardiff have had to be and will continue to be in this transfer window.
Adams was certainly a player Morison himself really liked. He has been an admirer for a long time but knew he would face competition from other Championship clubs. Many of Cardiff's divisional rivals are employing the same recruitment tactics and it's a scramble to find the best diamond in the rough at the minute.
Adams is certainly one of those. He is a player who has proven himself consistently at lower league level and deserves a shot at the Championship. He was incredibly close to joining Blackpool, a lot closer than many think, and it is credit to Morison and the club as a whole that they managed to steer him away from the Tangerines' attempt at courtship and convince him to join City.
Sources at the club have told WalesOnline that Adams will be a key part of how City want to play next season. One of the biggest frustrations last year was the lack of bite and legs in that midfield, which was assuaged somewhat when Ryan Wintle was called back from Blackpool, but Adams has been brought in to win the ball back for Cardiff quickly. They don't want to be passive in defence, they want to be more active and believe the 26-year-old has a huge part to play in that.
Alnwick is another who has been courted for some time. The club knew they couldn't sustain Alex Smithies' wages next season and have been on the lookout for a new goalkeeper for months. While Cardiff have been lucky with keepers over the last few seasons — goalkeepers have accounted for three of the last five Player of the Year winners — there has been a problem with distribution out from the back.
As the club look to evolve the playing style, they identified that a goalkeeper who is good with the ball at his feet would need to be a big part of that. Alnwick ticks that box, with the 28-year-old more than comfortable starting attacks and distributing pinpoint passes from his own box. Indeed, his biggest strength on football stats website WhoScored is listed as 'long passing', exactly the sort of attribute City want, to complement his ability with the gloves first and foremost, of course.
Then there is the potential ace in the pack, Ollie Tanner. A young winger, who last week turned 20, who was one of the most sought-after youngsters in English football over the last few months. When asked by WalesOnline, a source at Cardiff City said Tanner could be "anything he wants to be".
Any player who was offered a chance to play for Tottenham in January, and had two other Premier League offers since then, is an exciting prospect, but it is understood the player has really impressed his team-mates at Cardiff while being on trial there. It is understood the winger's ability to finish is particularly drawing praise from within the camp.
And, let's face it, that's what Cardiff have been crying out for, someone who can convert chances. Steve Morison bemoaned his side's lack of cutting edge at times last season and it is hoped Tanner's ability to put the ball in the back of the net will help City this term. It should be stressed, though, that he is just out of his teens and is stepping up five tiers to the Championship, so patience will be needed. But we saw the impact Rubin Colwill had last season, a similar output from Tanner would be more than useful and that is certainly an exciting prospect.
Cardiff's lack of pace and width has been glaring at times, too, and Tanner is seen as an important cog in getting that wheel turning again. In the words of his former coach at Lewes, Tony Russell, "He is 6ft 1in, quick as anything, strong, genuinely two-footed." Cardiff want to be able to change up formations and play with wingers at times and Tanner is the first piece of solving that puzzle.
And then we come to the most recent signing, Collins, or JC as he has become known at the club's Vale of Glamorgan training base over the last few days. One which came completely out of left field.
Morison said he is "over the moon" with the capture of Collins, while sources at the club think he will bring power, pace and athleticism, but is also a very good defender, too. He will challenge Joel Bagan for that left-back berth in the 2022/23 season.
There is no getting away from the fact that Cardiff still need battle-hardened, experienced Championship players and there is also an acknowledgement of from sources at the club. The Bluebirds have signed players in a good age range so far — aside from Tanner there are three signings between 26 and 28 — and you can expect more players with that sort of league experience behind them to come through the door.
Last season there was a gaping chasm between recently-graduated academy products and players the wrong side of 30, but that has already been addressed in the early throes of the window and will continue to be as the summer continues.
Expect the experience and top-end talent to come in the form of Cardiff's loan moves, too. It is understood the Bluebirds are expected to utilise all five of their loan slots again this summer, just as they did in January, to add more quality for a fraction of the price. It was a strategy which worked wonders for them at the back end of last season, with Cody Drameh and Tommy Doyle emerging as real prospects by the end of their stints in the Welsh capital.
With more planning and better relationships having been built with top Premier League clubs, it is hoped City can recruit even better in that loan market this summer and bring in even more bright talents to sprinkle some gold dust on the foundations which have been built by other permanent signings.
Other players Cardiff are known to be interested in also points towards packing their team with more Championship nous. Josh Laurent is something the club like and, at 27, he has 87 Championship games under his belt with Wigan and Reading. Callum O'Dowda, who has recently been released by Bristol City and is also 27, has 160 second-tier appearances with the Robins under his belt. Rotherham striker Michael Smith has also been linked and has 89 appearances in the Championship with the Millers.
So while City have had to look further afield than they have done in recent windows so far, there is a plan to get some seasoned Championship players, coupled with some real quality from the league above in a loan capacity.
The early-season excitement has rightly created a buzz among supporters and it is exactly what is needed. Some early groundwork has been laid and it will no doubt become a selling point to other prospective signings later in the summer.
There is a quiet excitement that these largely unheralded names will play a big part in Cardiff making a better fist of it next season, make no mistake, but the club are not naïve enough to think that they won't need more in terms of experience before the window closes.
