Cardiff City: Neil Warnock signed player who reminded him of Adel Taarabt - he produced some magic moments | OneFootball

Neil Warnock brought Lee Tomlin to Cardiff City in 2017 and he enjoyed some memorable moments in the Welsh capital

Lee Tomlin is fondly remembered at the Cardiff City Stadium after a four-year spell where he displayed some memorable moments of quality.

It's fair to say that it wasn't always plain sailing at the Cardiff City Stadium for the attacking midfielder, but on his day he was almost unplayable at times, and he was clearly a very gifted footballer.

So much so, Neil Warnock, who brought Tomlin to Cardiff in the summer of 2017, even compared him to the mercurial Adel Taarabt who he had worked with at QPR, perhaps giving an indication of just how much talent the Leicester-born midfielder had.

While Tomlin hasn't enjoyed the career or the plaudits that the Moroccan had, Cardiff supporters will look back at Tomlin's time in the Welsh capital with fondness, and he produced moments of brilliance during the 2019/20 season as he took the Bluebirds to the play-offs.

Lee Tomlin reminded Neil Warnock of Adel Taarabt

Tomlin was brought to the Cardiff City Stadium in the summer of 2017 ahead of Warnock's first full season in charge of the Bluebirds, joining on a three-year deal from Severnside rivals Bristol City.

The attacking midfielder hadn't really lived up to expectations at Ashton Gate following his move from Bournemouth the previous summer, and Warnock was keen to kickstart his career.

After securing Tomlin's signature in the summer of 2017, Warnock told the club's website: “Lee reminds me of Adel Taarabt who I had at QPR. 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.”

Ironically, Tomlin didn't actually perform too well under Warnock, and he played just 13 Championship games during the first half of the season before sealing a loan move to Nottingham Forest in January 2018.

This wasn't the plan for the midfielder, and he missed out on Cardiff's promotion to the Premier League, being sent on loan to League One side Peterborough United during the Bluebirds' season in the top-flight, further evidence that it wasn't working for him at Cardiff.

However, Cardiff's relegation to the Championship in 2019 proved a blessing for Tomlin, and he began to show some of that Taarabt-esque quality.

Lee Tomlin came up with some memorable moments at Cardiff City

Warnock was still in charge at the beginning of the 2019/20 season, and while Tomlin came back into his plans, he really hit his stride after he departed in November.

Neil Harris replaced Warnock, and the Millwall legend did something that his predecessor was unable to do and get the best out of Tomlin, and he helped the Bluebirds recover from a shaky start to the season to finish in fifth place and reach the play-offs.

The attacking midfielder became one of Cardiff's main sources of goals, scoring nine times and registering ten assists, including a memorable one to set up Robert Glatzel away at Leeds United which sealed a comeback 3-3 draw.

He was also a regular scorer from free kicks, with memorable efforts against Sheffield Wednesday and West Brom ensuring he became a fan favourite at the Cardiff City Stadium.

This form saw him rewarded with a new deal until the summer of 2023 in January 2020, but 18 months later he was a free agent after having his contract terminated.

Harris was replaced by Mick McCarthy during the 2020/21 season, and fitness and injury woes meant that he never played a game under the Irishman, having his deal terminated in October 2021.

It was a sad ending to what had been a strange time at the Bluebirds, and while he had moments of brilliance, injury issues meant that he wasn't able to show it all as often as he should have.

Warnock may not have reaped the rewards of his signing, but he was certainly right about his talent, and Tomlin pulled off some moments of brilliance that Taarabt would have been proud of.