It's been something of a slow start, but it seems Swansea City's summer has finally started to click. Harry Darling has been a player on Russell Martin's wishlist for some time, perhaps even as soon as he walked through the door in SA1.
In the end, it was a deal that was concluded relatively quickly, and very much on the down low, with the centre-back following on from Nathan Wood as the club's second signing of the summer.
So, what can the Jack Army expect from their latest recruit? We spoke to Toby Lock, sports editor at the MK Citizen, to get the full lowdown.
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What sort of player are Swansea getting?
He fitted in so well when he arrived from Cambridge, and just stood out immediately really. He arrived in the lockdown season but the fans immediately took to him even though they hadn't seen him in person, only on TV. Straight away he fitted the bill because he was a little bit different to what we'd had before.
As soon as Harry arrived, he just seemed like this big, tall strapping centre-back. A young kid who puffs his chest out and doesn't mind running 40, 50 yards in the centre of the park with the ball. He has a pretty fierce right foot on him that he likes to unleash from range. It made everyone think that this was not your normal centre-back.
Ball-playing centre-back is a bit of a played-out cliché but he does do that. He isn't afraid to get on the ball and have a little meander forward, particularly with that three centre-back formation. It allows the other two to drop in and become a little bit narrower, covering for him.
That was sort of toned down a little bit when Russ left and Liam Manning took over. What then came to the fore was his defensive side and his ability to win the ball in air at corners. Previously I don't think he scored at all under Russell's watch, but then got 10 last season. He particularly hit the gas in the second half of the season, and seemed to find his scoring boots all of a sudden. He was picking up goals left, right and centre. He has a little bit of everything, which is idea for a centre-half in the modern game now.
What were the circumstances of his exit?
I don't know if it was one of those that hit the accelerator on Friday or Saturday or something. There's was always rumblings that this deal was on the cards for a long time. It seems to have been fairly seamless one to be honest.
I think the breakthrough was probably the money side of it. It wouldn't have surprised me if personal terms had been agreed after January. I think the money was the main stumbling block back then and as soon as Swansea coughed up the amount and came up to what what Dons wanted for him, it would have been a fairly easy one to get over the line in the end.
He's already proved he's a step above League One at level, particularly in the second half of the season. For the best will in the world it wouldn't have surprised me if everything bar the numbers had already been established a few months back.
Any weaknesses?
I think although he's a big guy he can sometimes get a little bit bullied by big centre-forwards. That's not all the time, but we saw with the likes of Sam Vokes in the play-offs, particularly at Adams Park in the first leg, if a team wants to go big and boom it forward to a big lump of a target man, sometimes he can get on the wrong side of it.
I think that's just game experience and game understanding, because anybody who's watched Wycombe knows they've got experience in abundance and for the best will in the world Harry's got two or three seasons under his belt. I think that will come with time.
But other than that he's got a very well rounded game understanding. He knows when to get forward, particularly in that set-up, where I think Swansea will play him in the centre of the three.
He's already well versed in it because he's effectively had 18 months playing that style of football, so he could really hit the ground running. But he just perhaps needs to be a little more streetwise. He's already an on-field leader, he already barks at referees and other players, so he's got that in abundance.
The Chelsea interest
I think that was all smoke to be honest. They may have written his name down on a list somewhere as a potential, but there certainly didn't seem like any significant interest. I don't think there was an awful lot to it. I think most of the clubs would have been in the Championship. I don't think anyone higher than that would have really had a realistic look at him, other than perhaps thinking he might be one to watch after his next move.
It's more likely now that if he has a decent season at Swansea it may prick a few ears up. But I can't think of there being many Premier League sides looking at him, particularly Chelsea.
Is he ready for the Championship?
Absolutely. He was named in the League One team of the season and it was with a proven track record of what he did last season. He was probably one of the best defenders in the division and you often felt it was just too good for it.
I don't know if you've seen his goal against Morecambe where he's effectively ran the full length of the field, does a Cruyff turn and stuck it in the bottom corner. You don't get defenders who do that very often, particularly against teams in that division. Maybe if you're playing in a pub league or something.
But he has all the attributes and the mentality to go as high as he wants. The Championship will be a real test of his mettle, but it's the next level he needs before going even higher. I think he's capable of playing in the Premier League if his career continues on its current trajectory.
