'An injection of class' — How Man City's Tommy Doyle is turning around his and Cardiff's fortunes

Hopes were high for Tommy Doyle when Hamburg were chosen for the Manchester City midfielder to get first real taste of professional football out on loan after outgrowing academy football.

However, the under-23 captain struggled in Germany and made the difficult decision to cut his season-long loan short in December after just seven appearances averaging just 21 minutes each. Doyle's quality was never in doubt, though, so the race to take him on loan for the second half of the season was hugely competitive.

Championship outfit Cardiff did enough to convince City and Doyle they were the right place for him to kick on — and it hasn't taken long for him to finally show his promise. All it took was what he needed all along, a run of games to show what he can do.

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"I think we saw his technical quality from the very first corner he delivered on his debut in the Severnside derby against Bristol City," says Tom Coleman of WalesOnline, assessing Doyle's hugely impressive 13 games so far for Cardiff.

"He earned himself an assist that day, and you could see his quality immediately. His cross for James Collins was pinpoint and even a striker that had previously only scored two league goals couldn't miss."

Doyle joined Cardiff when they were nervously looking over their shoulder at the relegation zone, but a run of seven wins in 13 league outings since his arrival have eased those concerns. Doyle has started 11 of those and missed just one game through illness.

"It's probably not an exaggeration to say he's one of the first names on the teamsheet at the moment," Coleman continues.

"He's brought an injection of class to Cardiff's efforts in the middle of the park