By Paul Jones
Jordi Osei-Tutu has revealed he will be playing alongside one of his boyhood heroes when he starts his season-long loan spell at Cardiff City.
The 21-year-old defender – who has moved from Arsenal to the Bluebirds to become manager Neil Harris’s second signing of the summer – is a former clubmate of Cardiff captain Sean Morrison from their time together at Reading.
Osei-Tutu spent time in Reading’s academy as a teenager, when Morrison was in the Royals’ first team and said: “I was there from under nines to under 16s and whenever I watched the first team I would see Sean Morrison play.
“It’s going to feel weird going from watching him as a kid to hopefully playing alongside him here.
“Hopefully, I can learn from him and he’ll give me good advice and help me move forward with my game.”
✍️ #CardiffCity are pleased to welcome Jordi Osei-Tutu on a season-long loan from @Arsenal.
➡️ https://t.co/ILqI4gWOM4#CityAsOne pic.twitter.com/qTUjUan8If
— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) August 25, 2020
Osei-Tutu is yet to make a first team appearance at Arsenal, but made an impact in German football last season, where he spent a spell on loan with second-tier side VFL Bochum.
He played 21 matches and scored five goals after playing in midfield and on the wing as well as at full-back.
But Harris views the youngster as primarily a right back and someone who can fill the void left by the departures of Lee Peltier and Jazz Richards.
Last season, Harris had used Wolverhampton Wanderers youngster Dion Sanderson, but it appears unlikely he will return for a second loan spell.
“I came here because it is a big club giving me a big platform,” Osei-Tutu told Cardiff’s club website.
“I thank the manager for having the belief to bring me to such a wonderful club and all I want to do is repay him. I’ll do that by showing what I can do, helping the team win games and hopefully pushing for promotion.
“I have good knowledge of playing around the pitch, but right-back is my spot. I like to get up and down the pitch, attack and defend. I can’t wait to get started.”
Cardiff beat Newport County on Tuesday in two 50-minute matches against their south Wales rivals as both clubs continued preparations for the 2020/21 campaign.
Robert Glatzel’s solitary goal was enough to earn the home side victory in the first game before Wales international Kieffer Moore scored twice in the second clash.
But, despite the results, Newport manager Michael Flynn was impressed with the way his side performed against the Bluebirds, who finished 5th in the Championship last term.
“I thought the boys were excellent against a team who reached the Championship play-offs last season,” said Flynn.
“We created a lot of good chances and it was pleasing too.
“We just needed that little bit more quality in the final third, but at least we’re creating chances. It’s never nice and I don’t like losing a game – I don’t care if it’s a pre-season friendly or a league match.
“We always want to win and we knew it was going to be a tough test, but I was really pleased with the way the players stuck to what we asked them to do.
“You want to see the players doing what we’ve asked them to do during training and we don’t want any injuries. We want to see a togetherness and so far they’ve ticked all the boxes.”
