When Ryan Wintle strode out at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday with the captain's arm band around his left bicep, it must have represented a pretty sweet moment for him.
It is some turnaround for a player who started 2022 on loan with Championship rivals Blackpool, having been sent out immediately at the beginning of the campaign following his free transfer from Crewe Alexandra 12 months ago.
It made the decision to hand him to the Seasiders look utterly bizarre, with Mick McCarthy having started the season with Marlon Pack and Leandro Bacuna as two nailed-on starters, with Sam Bowen seemingly keeping Wintle out of the picture.
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For his performances for the Bluebirds in the back half of last season, though, Wintle could easily have staked a claim for the club's Player of the Season, however Cody Drameh rightly received that accolade in the end. But Wintle's contribution was consistently excellent and he appeared to grow in stature and confidence with each passing week.
And on Saturday, against Norwich City, the stand-in skipper, in the absence of Joe Ralls, looked even better again, bossing proceedings in the middle of the park. He shone in this new system and showed a fleetness of foot and composure with his touch from which Cardiff launched their attacks.
Granted, the attacks rarely amounted to much in the final third - that piece of the puzzle still needs to be fitted in with some urgency - but Wintle, alongside Andy Rinhomhota and Romaine Sawyers, was the catalyst for so much of the positivity.
He mopped up a lot, too, and did the dirty work. He dealt with the incredibly dangerous Todd Cantwell exceptionally well, it must be said. As was mentioned in WalesOnline's player ratings, he really does appear to cover every blade of grass on the pitch and he is deceptively quick.
At just 25, he is currently one of Cardiff's biggest assets, you would think. If he carries on the trajectory which he has been on since his January recall, then in another 12 months' time he will have a pretty lofty price tag on his head.
Near the end of McCarthy's reign at Cardiff, the manager made the statement that no matter how he is viewed by Bluebirds fans after he left or what they might make of his legacy, the signing of Mark McGuinness would be the defining positive of his tenure.
"Whatever people are thinking about my reign and me, that is a damn good signing," a defiant McCarthy said of McGuinness ahead of what would be his final game in charge of City, a defeat by Middlesbrough.
"He will be a really good player for the club and I hope he is one to drive the club forward. If not, I think he will be worth a hell of a lot of money in some time to come."
McGuinness, of course, has shown himself to be capable, despite suffering a small dip in form towards the end of last season. He is just 21, though, and has time. No doubt he will prove himself to be a capable player. And McCarthy's words might ring true in that regard some day, although he has his work cut out if he is to force his way back into the starting XI anytime soon.
But now, if we were to look at it, who is the McCarthy signing most likely to drive the club forward and the one likely to net the Bluebirds a lot of money in the future? Well, it's Wintle. After the rather questionable decision to loan him out immediately after buying him, it looks like the midfielder is bidding to prove McCarthy wrong twice.
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