Every now and then, the most important summer signing isn’t necessarily a new player.
You only have to go back to this time last year when Bruno Ecuele Manga, despite constantly being linked with a move to Galatasaray, signed a new deal at Cardiff in order to help with a promotion push that would ultimately go all the way.
Managing to keep a player of that calibre on the books only increased the feel-good factor around the club, producing a snowball effect that contributed greatly to an impeccable start of the season.
Fast forward 12 months. The World Cup is over halfway through, pub crawls dotted around Cornwall are being mapped out for pre-season and Bournemouth away is fast approaching.
Timely, then, was the news that Junior Hoilett has signed a three-year deal with the club, thus ending speculation with Stoke and ensuring that he’ll play a part in a campaign which has largely only happened due to his performances last season.
A while back, I wrote this article, saying how Cardiff shouldn’t break the bank for a player who is seemingly hedging his bets (and cuts in the queues in Caroline Street).
But, when all said and done, it can only be a good thing for City and their ambition of Premier League survival that the Canadian is sticking around for more chicken curry off-the-bone.
With the arrival of Josh Murphy, the inevitable conversation of ‘competition for Hoilett or a replacement?’ surfaced, and, thankfully, we now know the answer: competition.
With those two wingers, supplemented by the impressive Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Kareem Harris, the Bluebirds now have the flanks all sewn up. Pace, power and the ability to beat a man, City now have the tools in order to play a counter-attacking game at top flight standard.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t too confident about Hoilett or Aron Gunnarsson signing new contracts. The former, I am reliably told by a Blackburn Rovers supporting mate, has history in chasing the money instead of aiming to play at the highest level he can.
So it was a pleasant surprise, as I melted away in the car park of the Cardiff Bay Morrisons, to receive a text alerting me that he had indeed committed himself to the club that has given him so much in the 18 months since he joined.
Since that Bristol City game in October 2016, when he, Sol Bamba and Neil Warnock all made their Bluebirds bow, Hoilett has become a key figure in what will go down as a history-making group of players.
Although reliant on a sturdy defence, the speed of transition from back to front, often led by Hoilett, spearheaded City into the top flight of English football for the first time in four years.
And I have no doubt he can be just as good in 2018/19. After all, he’s no stranger to the league – he’s made 129 appearances through his time at Rovers and QPR.
City’s top goal scorer in the Championship last year has been managed excellently by Warnock, and with eight less games and hopefully less kicks to endure, I will certainly expect Hoilett to show everyone that he is Premier League material.
With the regards to the rest of the signings, I don’t think we are far off. A striker to compete with Kenneth Zohore, two centre midfielders and the completion of Alex Smithies would appease me.
Those additions, as well as Hoilett’s commitment, leave me quietly confident that I shall be dressed as a scuba diver at Old Trafford in May, knowing full well I’ll be there next year as well.