Bristol Rovers boss Ben Garner appears to have acquired a hugely talented player in the January transfer window.
Cian Harries joined the Gas on a permanent deal from Swansea City on deadline day, and Garner was quick to praise the 22-year-old defender, describing him as the best young centre-half he has seen in possession.
And that praise echoes the view of Tony Mowbray, who was the Wales youth international’s boss at Coventry City when he burst into the first team.
When Harries was just 18 years old, Mowbray rated Harries – who joined the Swans for a significant undisclosed fee in 2017 – as already the best defender technically in League One, but he needed to grow as a man before reaching his potential as a footballer.
“He’s a young boy with a phenomenal talent,” said the now Blackburn Rovers boss when in charge of the Sky Blues in 2015.
“On the technical side there’s nobody better than this lad in our division.
“But he needs the time to develop, get some bulk in his body, add the qualities that will help him as a footballer.
“We have to be patient with him because in a year, maybe two years, when he bulks up, develops a man’s mentality, and understands the competitive world he’s in, then we’ll have a footballer that will be a huge asset for this club.”
Harries found minutes hard to come by at Swansea as they were relegated from the Premier League, and was sent out on loan last summer to Dutch side Fortuna Sittard, playing eight times and scoring once.
Now he has matured and grown, Garner will be counting on Harries to be a pivotal part of his transformation of Rovers’ style of play into a slick, possession-based team.
And if Mowbray’s assessment of the Welshman is correct, Harries – who is in line to make his Gas debut at Wycombe Wanderers at the weekend – certainly has the tools to do the job.
