Brad Rial asks where Tom Ince and Robert Snodgrass, along with probable signing Andrew Robertson, will fit into Hull City's starting XI.
Over the past 18 months, the signature of Tom Ince has been highly prized. His well-documented rejection of Inter Milan has grabbed the headlines and, in a way, detracted from Hull City's coup in securing the services of an excellent young player.
At just 22, Ince joins the Tigers at a critical point in his career. It would've been easy for him to move to the bright lights of Milan, or to old club Liverpool, who were reportedly keen on taking him back to Anfield last summer.
Many gifted young players have taken this route and joined one of the top clubs in the country, only for their progress to stagnate due to a lack of opportunities. Ince has bucked the trend. In City, he has joined a club that will give him game time and, in turn, help continue his development.
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what is Ince's best position. Whether on the left, the right or through the middle, he causes problems for the opposition with his direct running and pace.
He also knows where the back of the net is, a quality that has escaped many a City forward in recent years. He scored 18 goals for Blackpool during the 2012-13 campaign and also netted seven last season before his January move to Crystal Palace.
The variety of these goals should be something to excite City fans. His long-range shooting is excellent and he is often seen in the six-yard box finishing off team moves. When you throw in his ability to dribble past players with ease, City could have quite a player on their hands.
Even though Ince spent the second half of last season at Palace, he joins the Tigers with only five top-flight starts under his belt. That lack of experience could work against him early on but, in time, I'd expect him to blossom.
Unlike Ince, fellow new arrival Robert Snodgrass arrives at the KC with a fair amount of Premier League experience. His two seasons at Norwich City will stand him in good stead and he is another player supporters will be looking forward to seeing in competitive action.
Snodgrass is a player opposition fans love to hate. While at Leeds, City supporters would've directed all sorts of verbal abuse his way because that's the kind of reaction his playing style provokes. He knows just how to get under the skin of the opponents.
But now that he is wearing the black and amber of Hull City, I'm sure the Scot will become well-loved for those very same antics.
At times last season, City struggled to deal with streetwise sides that knew how to win a cheap free kick here and there to slow down the pace of the game. Snodgrass is no stranger to winning the odd soft decision and his cleverness in the final third will serve City well. And once he has won the free kick, don't be surprised to see him stick it in the top corner. During his two years at Norwich, he scored four goals from direct free kicks and he also scored two against City during his time with Leeds.
In Tom Huddlestone, City have a player who can hit a decent dead ball, but Snodgrass's delivery is arguably even better and you can expect him to take all of the set-pieces.
It's not just from free kicks that he is a goal threat, either. Snodgrass struck seven times in the league last season (more than any City player) with six from open play. A similar return during the coming campaign would take away some of the goalscoring pressure from strikers Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic.
Snodgrass turns 27 in September so City are getting a player in his prime. He is a fantastic addition to an already very capable squad.
The problem Bruce faces is fitting both Snodgrass – who will surely command a starting place – and Ince into his XI. Their versatility allows him some flexibility when it comes to choosing a formation, but with Ahmed Elmohamady a fixture in the side, Sone Aluko and Robbie Brady returning to full fitness, and George Boyd and Stephen Quinn champing at the bit, squad rotation is likely to be a must.
Snodgrass played predominantly on the right for Norwich, a position almost exclusively occupied by Elmo at City. Indeed, the Egyptian played in every league game last season and he will take some shifting. On several occasions last season, Bruce dropped Elmo into right-back in a 4-4-2, but you have to question whether the attacking advantages outweigh his error-prone defending.
City's left, on the other hand, is very much up for grabs – in both attack and defence. The injuries to Brady and Aluko in the last campaign meant David Meyler was often deployed as a makeshift left-winger. He performed the role reasonably well but he doesn't have the attacking qualities required to play there week-in, week-out.
Ince is likely to offer a potent threat from the left, but Bruce may also opt to use him centrally, behind strikers Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic, in a 4-3-1-2 formation, and it wouldn't come as a surprise to see Ince and Aluko directly vying for one spot in the first eleven. They play in similar positions, have similar strengths and are of a similar age.
One thing's for certain, City will have plenty of attacking options from the bench this season.
Meanwhile, Bruce has made no secret of his determination to strengthen in defence and while he has been frustrated so far in his attempts to bring in a new central defender, he has at least all but wrapped up the signing of Dundee United left-back Andrew Robertson.
While it's tempting to think the highly-rated Robertson will be accommodated in a four-man defence, I'd expect Bruce to continue to change his formation from game-to-game depending on the opposition. Robbie Brady has often been outstanding at left wing-back in a 3-5-2 and his return to fitness offers Bruce another welcome option.
It shouldn't be forgotten that it's only a year since Robertson was playing for Queens Park in the basement of Scottish football, and it is expecting a lot for him to immediately adapt to the demands of the Premier League.
From back to front, the competition in this City side is as strong as it has been for some time. On paper, the Tigers are building one of the best squads in the bottom half of the league. If Steve Bruce can bring in a centre-back and one or two loan signings, supporters should have no concerns about competing on four fronts.• Brad Rial is a journalism student at Hull College and a life-long Hull City fan who writes every week for the Mail. Follow him on Twitter @BradRial.
