"He's absolutely phenomenal" - Cardiff City lauded for impact of "ridiculous" summer signing | OneFootball

We asked our Cardiff City fan pundit which player is the first name on the teamsheet currently

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Alex Robertson has been deemed the first name on Cardiff City's teamsheet after making an impressive start to life following his summer move from Manchester City.

The Australian international was a standout player for Portsmouth last season as they won the League One title, and the Bluebirds pounced in the summer to bring the 23-year-old to the Welsh capital, beating Pompey to his signature.

Despite having never played a minute of Championship football prior to his move to Cardiff, Robertson has had absolutely no problems with making the step from League One to the second tier, and since Erol Bulut's sacking in October, he's really shown what he's capable of.

Alex Robertson has made an impressive start to life at Cardiff City

We asked our Cardiff City fan pundit, Jack Price, who the first name on the teamsheet should be for the Bluebirds this season, and he was clear that Robertson is their most important player.

Speaking to Football League World, Jack said: "The first name on the teamsheet for Cardiff if I was manager would be Alex Robertson.

"He’s pretty much under that under Riza anyway, but he’s absolutely phenomenal. It would perhaps be easy to go for a Rubin Colwill, a player who can give us that magic and win games on his own when at full throttle, but Robertson, for me, makes an all-round impact.

"We’ve seen him make late runs into the box and linking up really well with Colwill in those little pockets in the final third so he can give us plenty from an attacking perspective, but what I like about Robertson is that he can fulfill any role in midfield, which is something I didn’t expect him to be able to do.

"Against Plymouth, where he was our best player behind Colwill, he was sitting really deep, but he was dictating tempo and breaking lines with his passing because he can just fizz it across the pitch.

"He’s ridiculous, it all depends on the game state with Robertson, because he can be driving forward playing one-twos and really getting involved with the players in the final third, but there are also times where he can sit deep and dictate.

"At West Brom on Saturday, he made the most interceptions in the game with five, and he was that midfield enforcer for us, constantly breaking up play and pressing high to stop them playing through us.

"He’s just integral because he gives you a bit of everything. There’s no one area of the game which is lacking, whereas Colwill has improvements to make.

"I think Colwill is the best player at Cardiff, but Robertson is the most important because of what he gives us from an all round perspective.

"He’s an absolutely terrific footballer, and it’s funny how he could barely get a look in for Erol Bulut. He’s top."

Alex Robertson could make Cardiff City a huge profit

According to Wales Online, Robertson signed for Cardiff for a fee of just shy of £1million, although that could potentially treble if all add-on criteria is met.

Manchester City also have a 25% sell-on clause, but Robertson's signing looks to be an absolute bargain, and if he continues playing like he has in recent weeks, there's no reason why they wouldn't be able to sell him for big money in the years to come.

The 21-year-old has a contract at the Cardiff City Stadium until 2028, and getting him to put pen-to-paper on a long-term deal was a genius piece of business by the Bluebirds.

He may have only just joined the club, but there'll be clubs watching his situation with interest if he continues his impressive form, and it would be a real surprise if he doesn't make the club a profit in the years to come.