Cardiff City's early-summer signing spree has grabbed the attention of not only Bluebirds fans but supporters from across the division.
Steve Morison made it clear towards the tail end of last season that he was excited for the window to open and for new faces to come in and freshen things up. Well, that has certainly been the case after no fewer than eight signings and the window having been open for little more than a week.
There have been few Hollywood names, such is the budget the club are currently working within during this off-season, and there are a number of unknown quantities, the quality of whom will only really be known when the season begins in earnest at the end of July.
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Supporters would like to see more quality added before the window closes, that's for sure, but the early work which has already been conducted at least gives us a glimpse into what will be a much-changed Cardiff XI next season. Whether that is for the better remains to be seen, but few could argue that there was a plethora of deadwood which the club needed rid of and they have successfully done that.
We can expect more signings, next week and perhaps even beyond. It must be stressed that Cardiff have used none of their loan allocation and are hopeful of using all five slots, like they did back in January, so one expects at least half a dozen, or more, to come through the door before the transfer window closes. That, it feels, is where next season becomes a success or a failure.
Amid the relatively unknown quantities from abroad and the lower leagues, Cardiff have also had some experienced Championship pick-ups, adding depth in areas which have sorely needed it.
On that point, let's look at the goalkeeping options. After letting Alex Smithies leave and signing two goalkeepers, Morison has three options in goal next season. Dillon Phillips plus new signings Jak Alnwick and Ryan Allsop, from St Mirren and Derby County respectively. Whether signing two new keepers has any impact on Phillips' future at the club remains to be seen, though at present it is viewed within the club as a competition for the shirt.
Phillips has had an up-and-down career thus far in the Welsh capital and it would be no surprise to see either of the other new recruits ahead of him come July 30. Morison is a big fan of Allsop and has chased him for some time. He comes with real pedigree and had no shortage of offers in the Championship. Cardiff were buoyed when they learned they won the race for his signature.
You only have to look at the Derby fans to see their reaction to his departure and you will have a greater insight into the sort of player Cardiff are getting in Allsop, who looks the most likely to be installed as the new No.1 next term.
Then there is the case for the defence. There are three new recruits and they are all full-backs, one of the areas which has needed real surgery in this squad for a number of windows now. On the right there is now Mahlon Romeo and Vontae Daley-Campbell and on the left there is the new, unknown Jamilu Collins.
Romeo looks to be the player most likely to occupy the right-back slot at the minute, while Collins, with his international and Bundesliga pedigree, probably pips Joel Bagan to the left-back spot.
Given how Cardiff finished last season, it appears likely Morison will want to opt for four at the back, with two wingers flanking a midfield three behind the striker. That being said, two of Perry Ng, Mark McGuinness and Curtis Nelson will be named at centre-half as things stand.
Ng's transition into a centre-back was a revelation last season and it would appear harsh to whip him out of any starting XI at the minute, so he gets the vote. Then the other position will likely go to Nelson, only because he is seen as the best one-v-one defender at the club, a quality very much needed when you are playing with only two centre backs.
The midfield sort of picks itself. If we take it at face value that Joe Ralls' contract expires this summer, that is. It will have to be a sitting two of Ryan Wintle and new-boy Ebou Adams behind Rubin Colwill, who can expect to have far greater emphasis placed on him this term, one suspects.
The wide options are, again, between two of Isaak Davies and new recruits Callum O'Dowda and Ollie Tanner. (As an aside, we have been told that O'Dowda has most certainly been signed as a winger, and not another wing-back option.) All of them have a point to prove next season and each of them has their merits, but given the step up which will be required for Tanner, the safe money probably goes on O'Dowda and Davies starting the season as the wide options. Whether Gavin Whyte has anything to say about that in pre-season is also a sub-plot to watch closely in the coming weeks.
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Up front, well, now here's the predicament. Max Watters has hardly set the world alight in a Cardiff shirt so far and Mark Harris, while he clearly does a job for the team, is not the prolific goalscorer the Bluebirds desperately need. James Collins is the closest thing to that, based on his previous seasons, but he really struggled in front of goal last term and his future at the club still remains shrouded in doubt.
At the minute? It's probably Watters, you would think. But in all likelihood it would be astonishing if that role isn't filled by a new signing in the coming weeks. It shows the real priority still remaining for Cardiff's recruitment team as we move forward in this window, while central midfield is also an area which needs more bodies.
There is the talk of Gareth Bale that never seems to go away, of course. He would likely occupy that striker role if he came. However he is on holiday at the minute following his exploits with Wales, so an answer on that front is unlikely to be imminent. Plus there is still much work to be done in the loan market. They will need Premier League quality, be they cast-offs or youngsters, if they have any real designs on making their mark this season.
But the depth is there now, which was needed. However one look at the best XI Morison has to pick from right now shows there is still more work to be done.
Cardiff City possible XI (4-2-3-1) : Allsop; Romeo, Ng, Nelson, Collins; Wintle, Adams; Davies, Colwill, O'Dowda; Watters.
