Cardiff City confirmed their third signing of the summer on Friday night.
Former Reading striker Yakou Meite has joined the Bluebirds on a two-year deal, following in the footsteps of Ike Ugbo and Dimitrios Goutas, who also agreed terms this week.
Erol Bulut is getting down to work and it's good to see a sense of optimism permeate through the fanbase once again.
Meite will be a name familiar with many supporters from his time in Berkshire but what are Cardiff really getting in the 27-year-old? We spoke to Royals expert Simeon Pickup of The Tilehurst End to get the inside track on La Brute...
What sort of player is he and what are Cardiff getting?
Cardiff City are getting a quick, strong, versatile forward who knows how to find the net. There's a difference in opinion among Reading fans over what Yakou Meite's best position is: some think he's better as a winger, others say he's more of a centre-forward.
For me, although he's capable of lining up out wide or up top, he's better as a wide forward, ideally staying higher up the pitch and cutting inside constantly, rather than being deployed deeper as a more traditional winger or more advanced as an out-and-out striker. Therefore a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 would suit him best.
How did he do at Reading and how will he be remembered there?
Meite was a rare sustained success in an era of decline at Reading. He joined the club on a free transfer from PSG in 2016 under Jaap Stam, but only really broke into the side properly two years later under Paul Clement (via a 2017-18 loan spell at Sochaux).
From 2018-19 onwards he built up a habit of being a reliable source of goals - regardless of manager, team-mates or the side's form. Those included some particularly important strikes, such as a late winner against Wigan Athletic that went a long way towards keeping us up in 2018-19.
However, the frustration is that we didn't get more out of him. Meite also picked up an unwanted habit of being injury-prone, missing large chunks of the last three seasons. That, combined with tactical inconsistency (different managers had different ideas on how to use him) meant he didn't consistently fulfil his potential. There's a top-end Championship player in there though.
Sad to see him go?
Meite's probably the purest and best example of a fan favourite you'll find at Reading in recent years. He got on with supporters wonderfully, was immensely likeable and always gave his all, so for many, seeing him leave really grates.
Personally, while I'm as sad at his departure as the rest, him leaving was entirely expected. There was no way of Reading keeping hold of a player like him in League One - we may well have struggled to keep hold of him if we'd stayed up.
The surprise though is that he's ended up at a club that didn't finish that much higher than we did last season. No disrespect to Cardiff City at all - it's an excellent signing - but we expected Meite to move to Standard Liege, as rumoured, or a club vaguely similar to them.
Biggest strength?
In general play, Yakou Meite is at his best when running at or in behind a defence, using his upper body strength and acceleration. He's also quite the poacher - so expect him to pop up with scrappy goals from set pieces - and is really strong in the air too.
Biggest weakness?
Meite isn't that great technically. He doesn't offer much in the way of incisive passing or crossing, so don't expect him to be much of a creative outlet for other players. He also falls short on link-up play, so although he's physically dominant and has plenty of experience as a striker, he's not one to lead the line effectively and bring others into the game as an outlet.
