Town boss Mick McCarthy believes midfielder Cole Skuse is good enough to play in the Premier League. The 27-year-old joined the Blues on a Bosman free transfer from hometown club Bristol City over the summer and has impressed his new manager since then.

McCarthy was delighted with Skuse’s display during the 3-0 home victory over Millwall last week: “He was excellent, I thought he was the best player on the pitch. David McGoldrick and Daryl Murphy were excellent too.

“It was a good team performance from us, but I thought Cole Skuse stood out amongst all of them.”

Although he wasn’t aware of any Premier League sides making an approach prior to his move to Town, McCarthy says he’s confident that he could make it at a higher level: “I think Cole Skuse could play in the Premier League, looking at him.

“It was funny because [Bristol City manager] Sean O’Driscoll said to me, ‘If you like him now, wait until you’ve worked with him as you’ll like him even more because he has an understanding of what you want to do and how to play’.

“He’s an elegant footballer. I thought he dictated the pace of the game on Saturday. He played well. He’s a good guy, a really nice man and he’s a really good player.”

McCarthy initially made a move in January but was rebuffed by the Robins, then still hoping to avoid the drop into League One: “I tried to buy him in the January window and Bristol City wouldn’t sell him. They wouldn’t part with him, that’s how highly they thought of him.

“So, we just did it in the summer instead. When we revisited it at the beginning of the summer, he was happy to come.

“It could have been us that have gone down and they could have stayed up and he might still have been there. But I think once they’d been relegated, he was never going to stay there.”

Ideally, he’d like Skuse to reach the Premier League with Town: “Hopefully with us, but that’s miles away, pie in the sky at the moment.

“We’ve had one defeat and one good result when we weren’t three goals better than Millwall, although I thought we deserved to win.

“I think he’s a really good player and I’ve been really impressed by him as a person and as a player. I liked him, obviously, as I signed him and Sean O’Driscoll is right, he makes a bigger impact when he comes in. He’s a quiet unassuming chap, but when he plays, he impresses.”

The Town boss expects Skuse to be viewed as one of the signings of the summer as the season progresses: “He’s a bargain, for nowt!

“I think he’ll be one of the good signings, not just for us, but when they start analysing who got good players. Whether it’s for a lot of money or for freebies, I think Cole will be seen as a really good signing.”

Photo: Action Images

BlueBhoy added 07:05 - Aug 17 High praise indeed. Didn't see him against Millwall , but thought he lacked a bit if physicality against Stevenage , as does the rest of the team at the minute . Hopefully wont allow ourselves to be dominated physically as much this season . MM was a strong physical player and we will need that to do well in the championship. Hope he continues to improve and bring Hyam along with him , as Chambers and Smith seem to have done.

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Dissboyitfc added 08:02 - Aug 17 Only seen him against reading, reminded me of mark brennan, similar height although Brennan was primarily left footed, Skuse can use his left to very good effect, he will pull the strings in midfield just as brennan did...Very good signing.....COYB
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muccletonjoe added 08:11 - Aug 17 Skuse and Hyam looked like a couple of cool operators last week , need the same again today
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budgieplucker added 08:29 - Aug 17 Reminded me of Sylvain Legwinski
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clivewoodsleftpeg added 08:40 - Aug 17 I think skuse will prove to be an excellent signing but would like to see us play 3-5-2 with cressy and hewitt at wingbacks, this would give us an extra man in the middle of the park to help out hyam and skuse as feel that although they are both excellent footballers they are a little bit leightweight and need someone in there to do the ugly stuff for them
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Stato added 08:58 - Aug 17 I thought he was very good at Reading and MOM against Millwall but there will be plenty of games where his good work will not catch the eye. He reminds me of Carrick in that respect. Sits deep, will not score too many, has a good range of passing but he would rather pass it 10 yards to a team mate than lose it trying the Hollywood pass over 50 yards. Keeps things ticking over and looks strong in the tackle too. Huge improvement on Ndaw and will help Luke develop his game over time.

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Karlosfandangal added 09:07 - Aug 17 The new Matty Holland ?
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too_true_blue added 09:18 - Aug 17 I can see that. Very good on the ball. His defensive game and the way he is on the ball reminds me of Michael Carrick. I hope he can get further up the pitch to pick passes as well. I agree with clivewoodeftpeg in that 3-5-2 would work well.... But I don't see big mick deviating from his tried and tested 4-4-2.
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Len_Brennan added 09:27 - Aug 17 I wasn't sure about him from what I saw in pre-season & thought that Wordsworth was more impressive in the centre, however Mick is spot on when he says Skuse was the best player on the pitch last week. He was really impressive & looks a great signing.
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