Vontae is a work in but can be an asset
A NEW Cardiff City right-back is a bit like a bus. You wait ages for one to arrive and then two turn up in quick succession.
Or something like that. Certainly Steve Morison’s options have grown significantly in the last 24 hours or so.
Morison’s former Millwall teammate Mahlon Romeo became the seventh new face to be brought on board, with his arrival coming just hours after the ink on the contract taking Vontae Daley-Campbell to the club had even started to dry.
The latter has arrived on a free transfer following his release from Leicester City, and is perhaps unlikely to be a name familiar with many Bluebirds fans, although Morison’s delight at his unveiling suggests there are high hopes for the 21-year-old
So, what can Cardiff expect? We spoke to Jordan Blackwell, Leicester City writer at the Leicester Mercury to get the full lowdown.
What were the circumstances around his exit?
It wasn’t a huge surprise. His last game for the senior team was against Watford in the FA Cup in January. He played out of position at left-back and struggled.
I don’t know if you remember, but Leicester had about 17 unavailable players at the time.
They had a lot of Premier League games called off at the same time, but because it was the FA Cup were forced to play a lot of youngsters.
He struggled, to be honest, and got taken off at half-time.
Then he went on loan to Dundee. I don’t think they actually won any of the games he played in, and then there was a sending off against Ross County, which I think everyone has seen!
But I don’t think it was too much of a surprise because he wasn’t quite at the level where he was going to break into the first team, nor was he really at the level where they felt it appropriate to offer him a new deal and then maybe sell him on to a Championship side, which is something they’ve done in the past.
What sort of player is he?
The main thing I would stay is physically he’s very good. I think that’s why Brendan Rodgers felt comfortable giving him opportunities when he did.
He actually made his debut in the FA Cup the season before last and it was clear that he’s not the sort of player you shrug off the ball.
That’s probably one of his best attributes. If players are going in 50/50 shoulder-to-shoulder he’s going to win a hell of a lot of them. When he was still playing u23s games it really felt like he was just bouncing players over all the time. Not committing fouls but just brushing them off with ease.
He’s not too slow either. He has a willingness to get forward and doesn’t seem too scared to do so. He’s not afraid to dribble with the ball. In the senior games he played there were a few examples of that.
The game he played in his debut it was his run into the box that won the corner in the last minute, and from that they scored to beat Brighton. They then went on to win the cup, and that was certainly an important moment in that run.
He was also captain of the u23s for the first half of last season before he went to Dundee. He was one of the older players in the team but there were others who could have taken on that mantel and they chose him, which probably says a lot.
I’m not sure he developed any real leadership skills given he’s still quite young, but I think it’s fair to say he was seen as someone who lead by example in terms of commitment.
Any weaknesses?
What I would say is that sometimes he would go forward and then almost have a loss of concentration. He’d forget to get back or whatever. That might be something to do with experience.
But there did seem to be a lapse in his game where he sometimes neglects his defensive duties. In the modern game you’ve got to be able to do both as a full-back now. That was probably his main weakness in the games he played. It wasn’t the case that he was being beaten by his opposite winger or anything like that. He’s more than happy to put himself about physically.
There maybe an element of recklessness attached to that. I think he was sent off at least once for the u23s, and there’s perhaps an over eagerness in the challenge. You’ve got to be a bit cuter I think. Nowadays, even if you win the ball, an overly forceful tackle is always going to give away a foul. And if you don’t win the ball you might get sent off. That’s perhaps a weakness he needs to work on.
Is he ready for the Championship? In terms of physicality, 100 per cent. I don’t think you can say that about a lot of players that get released. I think it’s about decision-making and defensive experience.
That’s where I’d maybe wonder if he’s ready. But those are the things you learn on the job.
But we saw with Leicester letting go of Calvin Bassey - he’s gone up to Rangers and done really well. His attributes were all about physicality too, and he’s managed to take his game on because he’s playing regular first team football. There’s talk about Villa being interested in making a move now and he’s become a real star.
You can’t rule that out with DaleyCampbell
because he’s got those attributes to work with. Hopefully the exposure in the first team will develop his know-how, his concentration levels and his decision-making in terms of knowing the right time to get forward.
All those things that are the difficult parts of the game. They are the areas where he might need a little bit of work.