Warnock wanted Brooks but couldn’t afford him

BOURNEMOUTH’S signing of talented youngster David Brooks looks like good news for Wales football fans, but not Cardiff City supporters, who might have seen him don the Bluebirds colours.

Neil Warnock revealed a fortnight ago that he had been chasing a player who was instead destined for Bournemouth, just after Cardiff had completed deals for Josh Murphy and Greg Cunningham.

Asked about Cardiff’s opening Premier League game, which will be at the Vitality Stadium against the Cherries, Warnock had said: “Bournemouth have just bought a player we were looking at actually, but it was more than what our budget is.”

The comment left many perplexed as Bournemouth had yet to sign a player in the summer window.

Yet soon after, their pursuit and subsequent capture of Brooks appears to suggest he was the man Warnock was referring to. “It’s been a bit of a wait to get our first signing and we’ve found it quite a challenging environment this transfer window,” said his new boss Eddie Howe.

“But I’m delighted to get David. It’s another talented young player joining the group.

“He’s a player we have been looking at for a long time, someone we have admired, is technically very good and has huge potential.

“David offers a real creative threat, high technical ability, he is able to play a couple of positions – wide on the right or behind the striker – and has been used in both roles by Sheffield United and Wales.

“He has a good attitude and is a really ambitious lad who wants get to the top in the game, and we will help him get there. “I don’t think anyone has seen the best of David yet – that will still be ahead of him.”

Cardiff looked elsewhere in their transfer search and were able to confirm the arrivals of Bristol City’s Bobby Reid – a player in a similar position and for a similar fee (£10million) to Brooks – and goalkeeper Alex Smithies from Queens Park Rangers (for £3million).

The Bluebirds are now believed to be hunting for loans to supplement their current squad, with Marko Grujic and Robert Snodgrass strongly linked with a move to the Welsh capital.

For many avid Wales followers, the proposition of Brooks plying his trade in the Welsh capital would have been an attractive one.

Yet in Bournemouth he moves to a club well settled in the Premier League with a free-flowing style of football, which should aid his international development.