The exciting new-look Cardiff City XI and where Aaron Ramsey will play
Aaron Ramsey is Cardiff City's fifth signing of the summer and he will by no means be their last.
But, it's fair to say, his arrival has been the most exciting of Erol Bulut's short tenure so far. Already, the new manager's squad is taking on a very different look and feel to the one we saw last season.
There will be more incomings before the window shuts, that's for sure, but what does Cardiff's strongest XI look like now? Well, that's a tricky one to nail down, with a few positions strongly contested, but we will give it a crack.
In goal, it's probably safe to assume that Ryan Allsop will keep the gloves. He looked dicey at his near post at times last season, while his ability to command his own penalty area has been called into question on occasion, too, but he is still Cardiff's best bet. Jak Alnwick didn't set the world alight when he was afforded a few rare opportunities last term.
We wait to see how Bulut wants to play, but if he has designs on playing out from the back, as Steve Morison did, then that will certainly play to Allsop's strengths.
There is little debate about the back four. It might be harsh on Mahlon Romeo, who had a good debut season for the Bluebirds, but you would find very few City fans who would disagree with the following back four: Perry Ng, Mark McGuinness, Dimitrios Goutas and Jamilu Collins.
Ng playing as an inverted wing-back is a genuinely exciting change and a role which suits him down to the ground. He's looked good there in pre-season so far. Goutas appears to be a real leader and a defender around which Bulut will build his side. McGuinness is arguably City's greatest asset in terms of what he could net in the transfer window if sold now, while Collins set the league alight, albeit very briefly, last season before his injury. City fans will pray that ACL injury has not set him back too much.
Midfield is heavily contested. In truth, Cardiff have too many midfielders and they are too similar. Is there enough differentiation between what Joe Ralls, Ryan Wintle, Ebou Adams, Romaine Sawyers, Andy Rinomhota and Eli King offer? Probably not. A couple of those might need to leave, with King likely to head out on loan.
With Bulut operating a double-pivot system, Ralls, the captain, and Wintle, arguably the pick of the others last term, are probably your starters. Both are combative in there and will benefit from the added body of an inverted wing back or two when in possession. They are both also adept at dropping in and splitting the centre backs, picking up the ball mounting attacks. It's probably the strongest pairing, save any more incomings.
The reason Ramsey wasn't mentioned above is because he should not be in the conversation for one of those pivot roles. He needs to be the puppet master, pulling the strings at the tip of the midfield three. To be fair, he has hinted that is where he will be playing, He has played in that more advanced role for club and country over many years, but for Nice and Juventus he played a more conventional central midfield role. In the Championship, he should be advanced further up the pitch, where he can be devastating.
That might prove prohibitive to Rubin Colwill, because that is his best position and that is where he has been playing in pre-season - and he has flourished there. He will likely rotate with Ramsey throughout the season, or, if push comes to shove, he might be forced to play out wide again. Ramsey wants to show Colwill the ropes and there will be no one better for the youngster to learn from - again, .
The front three positions are interesting to call. Three of Callum O'Dowda, Callum Robinson, Ike Ugbo, Yakou Meite, Kion Etete and Karlan Grant will be in the mix at present - potentially Colwill, too, if Bulut opts to deploy him out wide - and there will be other names in the conversation as the window draws on.
It would be harsh for O'Dowda not be considered as a pretty nailed-on starter given how well he played last season. Finally, with Collins back, he can push further up the pitch. He made an immediate impact in his first pre-season game against Bristol Rovers this summer, too, setting up Ollie Tanner with one of his first touches.
Grant, Ugbo, Meite and Etete will be fighting it out for that striker spot, more than likely. Ugbo has the better goals return, but Etete showed real promise last season and Bulut has made reference to his penchant for scoring goals from set pieces a few times already this summer. Meite has said he is being considered as more of a wing option.
But Grant, whose transfer went a little under radar amid the Ramsey furore, is a shrewd pick-up by City. He is a a threat from set pieces and an adept finisher, so ticks a lot of boxes. He could well be considered first choice up top.
On the right, well, it's hard to look past Robinson. A top operator at this level, as is Meite, to be fair, and having those two as options is a real plus for Cardiff. But Robinson was missed greatly last season when he was injured and he will almost certainly be one of the first names on the team sheet, especially given his pre-season form under the new manager and his relationship with striker Grant.
Possible Cardiff XI: Allsop; Ng, McGuinness, Goutas, Collins; Ralls, Wintle; Robinson, Ramsey, O'Dowda; Grant.
