As new signings bang in goals and young loanees dazzle with their marauding runs and attacking play, one Cardiff City player has quietly slipped under the radar with his impressive displays.
Ryan Wintle was called back from his loan at Blackpool at the beginning of January and has slotted into the Cardiff midfield seamlessly.
It's not been the easiest start to life as a Bluebird for the former Crewe midfielder. In fact, things got off to a disastrous start.
After a substitute appearance against Barnsley on the opening day of the season, and two Carabao Cup appearances, Wintle struggled to stick his head above the parapet in terms of performances with Mick McCarthy's favourites blocking the way.
McCarthy liked having Marlon Pack, Joe Ralls and Will Vaulks in the middle of the park, while the early-season emergence of Sam Bowen seemed to suggest that Cardiff had far too many players in that position.
It looked incredibly imbalanced and someone had to make way, unfortunately that eventuality befell Wintle, who joined Blackpool on loan.
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Wintle quickly set about making that call look bizarre, though, as he turned out impressive display time and time again up at Bloomfield Road, endearing himself to the Seasiders faithful in the process.
Blackpool quickly shot up the table while Cardiff began their descent towards the bottom.
Wintle was brought back to address the problem of the underperforming midfield and it is fair to say he picked up where he left off at Blackpool.
Manager Steve Morison has been delighted with the 24-year-old's impact.
"He has been excellent. He's been excellent since the first day he came back [from Blackpool]," Morison said.
"In training, you can definitely see a better player. I know we didn't get a chance to see him properly, because he went quite early on and played really well for Blackpool.
"That player was always there, we just never had the opportunity to see it.
"His performances in the games have been excellent. He does the defensive work really well, he is really calm. He has got that turn of speed when he needs it to get back and nullify some danger.
"He has been excellent and I'm really pleased. It's been a really positive bring-back from loan."
Wintle himself, following his return, spoke of how "shocked" he was that he was getting loaned out to the Seasiders.
"It came as a shock at the time, going out on loan. But it’s football, it’s a short career, so I thought maybe going out would benefit me in the long run," Wintle said last month.
"Thankfully, it’s been a good start to the season for myself, gone out and got some valuable experience and I’ve come back more of an asset to this football club."
He has certainly become more of an asset, that's for sure.
Morison said it is testament to the player's mental fortitude that he has come back in and made an immediate impact, addressing a problem area of the pitch for Cardiff in doing so.
"He's a mature boy," Morison added. "I think he literally just gets up and gets through his day and ticks boxes.
"He gets on with his work and gets on with the lads.
"I'd like to think he was pleased to come back and he has come back and got game time that I knew he would get."
For many City fans now, Wintle forms one half of Cardiff's best duo in the middle of the park, alongside Joe Ralls.
While the competition from the likes of Vaulks, Pack and Leandro Bacuna is still there, the player himself deserves enormous credit for leapfrogging them in the pecking order, even if he had to go 230 miles away to do it.
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