LOIC AT THIS... EXPERT’S VIEW ON NEW BLUEBIRD DAMOUR

MANY eyebrows were raised when Cardiff City announced the signing of Frenchman Loic Damour from Ligue 2 outfit Football Bourg-enBresse Péronnas 01 on a free transfer earlier this summer.

The France Under-20 international has never played in Britain but put pen to paper on a two-year deal to join the Bluebirds ahead of the 2017-18 Championship campaign.

He has been a regular during the Bluebirds’ pre-season schedule and netted his first goals for the club in the 3-1 win over minnows Bodmin Town.

He is set to battle it out with Greg Halford and Joe Ralls for a place in the centre of Cardiff ’s midfield alongside last season’s player of the year Aron Gunnarsson.

But what exactly will he bring to the party and will he have a say in the Bluebirds’ bid for promotion?

We spoke to Le Progrès journalist Romain Brusc - who regularly watched Damour during his time in France - to find out...

What type of player is Damour?

Loic is a box-to-box midfielder as they say in England and he can cope very well with the physical demands of a game.

He is a middleman with great endurance who likes defensive tasks but also plans offensively to break the lines. How did he fare last season? Last season, he was in the top five of the Ligue 2 players who made the most mistakes. But also in the top five of those who provoked the most faults of the opponents.

But he is also a player with great mental strength.

What did fans make of his departure from FBBP 01?

The supporters of FBBP 01 regret his departure because he was close to the fans and took the time to discuss things with them, and also because he was a very important player in the team last season.

Will he succeed at Cardiff?

He will invest 200% to succeed in Cardiff, because he dreamed of a challenge abroad.

But I do not know whether he will succeed because competition is very important in this team. He will have to work hard to make a place for himself.

He already had experience abroad in the second division in Belgium. But since then, he has matured a lot.

One day he said to me: “I was a kid and I became a man, I am much more respectful of others (after his experiences in Belgium).”