Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock has made the club's seventh signing of the summer today as striker Lee Tomlin joined the club from Championship rivals Bristol City for a reported fee of around £2.9 million.
Warnock will be hoping that securing the services of Tomlin will give the Bluebirds a chance of securing a place in the Premier League next season. It also looks like Tomlin's arrival at the Cardiff City Stadium signals the end of the club's summer business.
A potentially astute addition
Tomlin arrives at Cardiff as one of their main additions in this transfer window and the reported fee of around £2.9 million, could prove to be a bargain. However, just because it is for a relatively low fee, does not mean that Tomlin does not have the credentials to be an astute addition ahead of next season.
The 28-year-old has a host of experience as Cardiff will become the seventh club he has represented in his career. He also also played for Rushden & Diamonds, Brackley Town, Peterborough United, Middlesbrough, Bournemouth and most recently Bristol City.
However, his career has stalled in recent years as he has struggled to make an impact in the last few years. He moved to Premier League side Bournemouth in 2015 from Middlesbrough for a fee of around £3.5 million but failed to score a single goal in the top flight during his spell at the club.
This led to him joining Bristol City initially on a season-long loan before the club eventually signed him on a permanent deal for around £2-3 million last summer.
However, in a season where the club struggled to pick up results as they narrowly avoided a drop to League One, Tomlin also struggled and only scored six goals in 38 appearances in the 2016/17 campaign.
Tomlin 'buzzing' to join Bluebirds
Tomlin will now be looking to get back on track as he approaches the end of his career and will be looking to impress in Warnock's side next season. He told Cardiff's official site: “I’m over the moon to be at Cardiff City – absolutely buzzing to be at the club and looking forward to getting started."
He added: “I want to get back to the Premier League and I feel I can do that here. I know a lot of the lads here already which makes things even easier for me ahead of travelling down to Cornwall next week.”
Warnock was equally delighted to get the deal of the line and drew comparisons between Tomlin and Adel Taarabt who he managed during his time at Queens Park Rangers. He said: “Lee reminds me of Adel Taarabt who I had at QPR. He’s always a threat when he’s on the ball and you’re never quite sure what he’s going to do, but I’m hoping I can get the best out of him here."
He added: “There’s a lot more to come from Lee. His creativity is second to none and we want to give him the platform to use that. This is the right atmosphere for him to revel in."