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.”