The eleventh and final signing of the season.

Oliver Skipp’s loan move was confirmed in the very small hours of Wednesday morning. A central midfielder with Premier League pedigree, Skipp brings a wealth of experience to SE7.

Let’s address the elephant in the room first - Skipp is deeply unpopular with Leicester fans. Yann Kermorgant and Conor Coady also came with negative review from Foxes fans but they turned out okay in the end. Realistically, Skipp is being criticised for things out of his control. He didn’t negotiate the £25m transfer fee with Tottenham or the appointments of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Martí Cifuentes. He is partly responsible for their performances on the pitch but he was a cog in a dysfunctional machine.

The 25 year old midfielder has had success in the Championship. In the 2020/21 season he played a crucial role in Norwich’s title winning side and was voted in the PFA Team of the Year for the division. The following season he established himself in the Spurs midfield to the extent that Jose Mourinho predicted he could become  club captain one day.

However, he then suffered an injury which saw him miss 146 days of football but it doesn’t seem to have reappeared as he was available for every match last season.

So what kind of player is Oliver Skipp? He’s a holding midfielder, in a similar mould to Conor Coventry. His main strength is as a link player, taking the ball off the centre backs and moving it up the pitch. He played fewer passes than Coventry last year but was more accurate with them. Neither player is going to create a host of big chances but they will provide the platform for others to do so. Skipp is comfortable on the ball in pressure scenarios which will help against aggressive pressing teams. If he is to partner Conor Coventry in midfield then he is an upgrade on Greg Docherty. Skipp and the former skipper share a defensive understanding of the game, making plenty of interceptions and recoveries to break up play, but the new signing is a much better technician.

Welcome to SE7, Oliver.