AFC Bournemouth
Todd Cantwell was one of five deadline-day signings through the door at Vitality Stadium and has seamlessly slotted right in.
Having known Lloyd Kelly and Dominic Solanke from his time in England’s under-21 set-up, he also once cleaned the boots of current first-team coach Gary O’Neil at Norwich City.
There are a few familiar faces on the south coast and less than a week in, Cantwell had already made his debut for the club, coming on as a second-half substitute in the FA Cup clash with Boreham Wood on Sunday.
With his feet under the table, he’s ready to get stuck into the league campaign, as Birmingham City travel south on Wednesday evening.
Ahead of the game, Cantwell discussed a whirlwind week and his delight at becoming an AFC Bournemouth player.
“I've found it really easy to settle in, probably a lot easier than I could've asked for,” he began.
“The players have been ever so welcoming and the staff have been brilliant, but it's also a really nice area. It's similar to Norwich in some aspects, but I've found it really smooth settling in and I can't wait to get in the thick of the games now.
“It's a group of lads that are young and ambitious which, when you get a set of players that have the same ambition, naturally you're going to get on and look at things the same way.
“In that sense, it's been pretty easy to fixate ourselves in what we want to achieve. We can only do that by winning games and we can only do that when the games come around. I'm just looking forward to getting going.”
While Cantwell has been welcomed by his new teammates off the pitch, he continued by discussing how the coaching style has also helped him settle on the training ground.
“Under a previous manager, I've trained in a very similar manner to how we do things here. That’s also partly why it's been a smooth transition.
“Obviously, I hadn't been getting the games where I was before, so I've missed out on that part, but the training here suits me perfectly. It's the way I want to train, so it's been really good.”
With three promotions to his name at the age of just 23, Cantwell certainly knows what it takes to get out of the Championship.
He was one of seven January additions to the AFC Bournemouth squad, as Scott Parker bolstered his options in the bid for Premier League promotion.
The midfielder believes that the depth in the squad and high competition for places is pivotal to success in English football’s second tier.
“I've experienced it at Norwich when we were going for the title,” Cantwell continued.
“You need a big squad and you definitely need one that has a lot of quality. Unfortunately, you do get injuries in football which is horrible and you do need to be able to replace that with similar quality.
“Having said that, every game is different in the Championship and you might need a different player for a different type of game. I think we pretty much tick every avenue.
“I think they'll be a bit of frustration if you don't get the games that you want to get, but every player can probably agree that, if you're winning games and looking to win a title, you'll be happy enough with what the team on the pitch are doing and you've just got to get behind them.”
As the Cherries look to kickstart a run of league form following the 1-0 win over Barnsley at the end of January, Cantwell believes that the fast-paced run of games can be an advantage to the side.
“When you're winning, you just can't wait for your next game. When you're losing, you haven't got long to dwell and you can put it right.
“It's the best part of the Championship, but it can also be the worst because if you go on a run of form where you don't get a win, then you can slip away quickly.
“In the same breath, if you get three or four wins in a row, you find yourselves in a completely different position in the table.
“What we want to do is to try and cement the top place and that's not gone at all. We've got a lot of games to play and I'm really looking forward to seeing where we finish.”
