Cardiff City winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has been named the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month for August.
Mendez-Laing began this campaign with the same exciting brand of attacking flair with which he finished last season, albeit at a new club and a division higher. His four goals from four starts included a stunning finish in the win over Sheffield United.
The winger said: “It’s been a great first month of Championship football for me and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s a plus to receive this award on behalf of all the lads following the month we’ve had. Obviously we want to maintain the form we’ve been in and kick on.”
Sky Sports’ EFL pundit Don Goodman said: “Cardiff fans could be forgiven for reacting to the signing of Mendez-Laing with a little less gusto than the subsequent arrivals of Lee Tomlin and Danny Ward, but he is certainly making a name for himself in the Championship. The challenge for coaches was to turn Mendez-Laing’s talent into consistent performances and his brace against Aston Villa was particularly memorable as we saw his full catalogue of abilities.”
Sky Bet Football Trading Manager Mikey Mumford said: “Extraordinary strength and stature saw him open the scoring against Aston Villa with a back-post header but his second was even better, as he left a leaden-footed John Terry before angling home a sumptuous second. Perhaps more encouraging is the fact he backed those strikes up, contributing goals in the victories over Sheffield United and Wolves taking his tally to the month to four.”