Amadou Mbengue

Mbengue built his name the hard way, playing match after match for his old club without needing a flashy reel of clips to earn his place. He came up through a respected French academy. That steady run of games in English football's third tier finally earned him a move up a level, and his game leans defensive rather than attacking, focused on breaking up danger rather than scoring goals himself.

The obvious question is whether that same reliability holds up against a faster, sharper level of opponent. Defenders who thrive on positioning and physical duels in one division can still be caught out by the extra yard of quality a step up in class usually brings. How smoothly he adjusts to that pace will decide how much of his lower league form actually survives the jump.