Neil Warnock has compared Cardiff City’s final signing Lee Tomlin to highly-rated former Spurs and QPR playmaker Adele Taarabt.
Tomlin has signed for the Bluebirds on a three-year contract and the fee could rise to £2.9m.
“Lee reminds me of Adel Taarabt, who I had at QPR,” says Warnock. “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.
“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.
“He was top of my list at one stage, but I didn’t think we’d be able to get him from Bristol City at the time.
“We were going to have to pay a substantial loan fee for him, but in the end I don’t think Bristol City fancied that idea.
“So Mehmet (Dalman, chairman) decided to go in and buy him.
“We won’t be signing any other players.”
Tomlin, 28, has joined Cardiff from Championship rivals Bristol City and will be in Warnock’s squad for next week’s pre-season tour to Cornwall and Devon.
He is also likely to be involved in Friday’s opening fixture against Taffs Well at their Rhiw Ddar stadium (7pm).
Tomlin is Warnock’s seventh and final Bluebirds’ signing and he told iFollow Cardiff City: “I’m over the moon to be at Cardiff City – absolutely buzzing to be at this club.
“I want to get back to the Premier League and feel I can do that here.”
Leicester-born Tomlin began his professional career with Rushden & Diamonds after playing for his home city club at youth level.
He had four years at Peterborough United, firing 43 goals in 156 appearances, before joining Middlesbrough in 2014.
Tomlin played Premier League football for Bournemouth on loan before making the move to Bristol City where he scored seven goals in 42 matches last season.
He has now become Cardiff’s seventh signing during the build-up to 2017-18, following Loic Damour, Danny Ward, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Callum Paterson plus Lee Camp and Neil Etheridge.
Warnock has also confirmed Cardiff have turned down bids for striker Kenneth Zohore and defender Sean Morrison.
Zohore was Cardiff’s top scorer in 2016-17 with 12 goals, and the 23-year-old striker has been a target for Hull City.
“I can’t tell you a specific account, but if they bid £15m to £20m, I’ll think about it,” says Warnock. “But I don’t think anyone in the Championship would bid that.”
Morrison has been linked with Sheffield Wednesday, but Warnock wants his captain to stay.
The Bluebirds manager would not reveal which clubs are keen on Morrison, but he says: “The offers keep going up for Sean.
“I’ve kept him informed of the situation and hopefully over the next week or two we can put that to bed.
“But you never know in football. Clubs keep on improving offers, and at some stage you have to be realistic.”
Warnock had hoped to bring in Republic of Ireland winder Jonny Hayes, who opted for a move from Aberdeen to Celtic.
Cardiff City’s full pre-season list of fixtures:
July
Friday 14: Taff’s Well (away 7pm, Rhiw Ddar)
Monday 17: AFC Tavistock (away 7pm, Langsford Park)
Wednesday 19: Bodmin Town (away 7pm, Priory Park)
Thursday, 20: Under-23 v AFC St. Austell (away 7pm, Poltair Park)
Friday 21: Plymouth Argyle FC (away 7pm, Home Park)
Saturday 22: Under-23 Bideford AFC (away 2pm, The Sports Ground)
Tuesday, 25: Shrewsbury Town (away 7pm, The Greenhous Meadow)
Friday 28/Saturday 29: To be arranged (home, Cardiff City Stadium)