ROMONEY Crichlow might not have been the big headline signing this week at City, but there is still plenty to get excited about.

The 23-year-old is clearly a talent, but Huddersfield must feel he is not quite ready for their first-team yet, no shame in that given the Terriers were 90 minutes away from being promoted to the Premier League last month.

Crichlow made a mark last season at Swindon, with then-boss Ben Garner telling our sister paper The Swindon Advertiser after his departure: “He did great for us in the first part of the season. Unfortunately, he picked up an injury and then got Covid.

“Post-Christmas, once I had that inclination that there would be a chance he would be going, I felt it right to prioritise the players that I knew were going to be here for the rest of the season.

"He’s got great ability, Rom, he’s had a really successful loan period here.

"In some ways, I think we’ve been the victims of our own success. We’ve said we’d take these young players, we said we would play and develop them. That’s happened with Rom and Kaine [Kesler-Hayden]."

Crichlow averaged 0.8 interceptions per League Two game, as well as 3.7 clearances in each too.

Plymouth came calling for him next, so he must have impressed at Swindon, for them to give a young centre-half a chance in the division above.

He didn't get too many chances on the south coast, but was a regular member of their matchday squads, where he would have observed and gained valuable experience from their other older centre halves James Wilson, Dan Scarr and Macauley Gillesphey.

Pilgrims boss Steven Schumacher recognised something in Crichlow, impressed with his organisational skills, and how vocal he was at such a young age.

It remains to be seen whether City see Crichlow as a viable alternative to Paudie O'Connor, who departed for Lincoln last week, or whether the Bantams plump for a centre-back partnership of Yann Songo'o and Matty Platt.

Either way he is a cultured option in there, with Mark Hughes saying after he signed: “At a young age, Romoney has maturity beyond his years in his play. He is an accomplished footballer in possession as well as carrying important defensive qualities.”

Can Crichlow's career truly blossom at City? Only time will tell.