Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Glen Williams

How Cardiff City snared a top Man City prospect and the ex-Everton stars who played crucial roles in the deal

Cardiff City boss Steve Morison has expressed his delight over how he and his staff managed to capture the loan signing of one of Manchester City's top young prospects.

The Bluebirds announced their second signing of the month, with Tommy Doyle joining for the rest of the season.

He joins Cody Drameh as the two latest players recruited to aid Cardiff's fight against relegation and it is certainly a signing the club and the fans are excited about.

Morison gave insight into how the deal was struck, including analysis from England youth-team coaches in the form of ex-Everton stars Joleon Lescott and Lee Carsley.

"We got asked to put a presentation together on how we play, what we do, where we would see Tommy playing. Then we put that to them," Morison said.

"I had a chat personally with the player, because he wanted to know my thoughts on him, he wanted to ask questions, so we had those conversations. Then you just leave it and wait until you get feedback - there could be four, five, six teams doing the same thing!

"It's using relationships as well. We spoke to all the guys at England. I know Mark [Hudson] spoke to Joleon Lescott, who was doing stuff with England, I got some feedback off Lee Carsley, who was the under-21s manager. Everyone gives their little report and it compiles.

"They said Tommy would love to come and we'd love him to come to you guys. They're really pleased, they think we can give him an opportunity to go back to them a slightly better player and it gives them an idea of what he can do at Championship level."

As Cardiff place more of a focus on working within the loan market moving forward, it is important that they continue to build these positive relationships with top clubs.

Once again, though, just like the deal they struck with Leeds for Cody Drameh, Morison heaped plaudits on the analysis team for putting together such a stellar presentation for Manchester City, something which went some way towards snaring Doyle's signature.

"It's huge," Morison said of the burgeoning reputation Cardiff are having with Premier League clubs.

"It's amazing the stuff we have to do for these teams. It's testament for what they do and it's a testament to us as a coaching staff, what we're doing on the grass. Obviously those teams are watching what we do and are saying, 'Oh yeah, we can send a player there'.

"Man City have given us one of their players, their captain [of the youth team], the grandson of two legends, someone they think highly of, and they've gone, 'Do you know what? What Cardiff do is really good, we'll send him down there and it will be a benefit to our player.'

"The same with Cody, we had to go down that route with Cody. We do our work and it's paying off, because personally I think we've got ourselves two top quality players."

And it's fair to say that Doyle has already made an impression, having trained this week ahead of his official announcement on Thursday.

Doyle has already shown those leadership traits which made him the standout choice to captain Man City's successful under-23s' team. Indeed, even Bluebirds striker James Collins was taken aback by just how vocal the 20-year-old had been in training this week.

"Tommy has trained this week and he has been really good to be honest," Collins said.

"He’s shown his qualities. For such a young lad, he’s very vocal and he’s very technical.

"I'm really excited to see what he can bring to the table when he plays."

That last sentence will be echoed by thousands of Cardiff fans over the coming hours, no doubt.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.