August 2019, Bobby Reid completes a loan move to Fulham after a largely ineffectual first season with Cardiff City in the Premier League, with Neil Warnock's side being condemned to Championship football once more after a one season stay in the top flight. 

With only five goals and four assists during his first season with the South Wales club, Reid was in clear need of a fresh start after failing to really impress for the Bluebirds upon their return to the Premier League.

Blessed with the ability to adapt to playing in various different positions, the former Bristol City man struggled to hold down a consistent role in Warnock's direct system, often cutting a frustrated figure as a lone striker on many an occasion throughout the campaign.

As a result of Cardiff's subsequent relegation, it was made clear that Reid was deemed as being surplus to requirements, with the 27-year-old departing for Craven Cottage last summer.

After slowly integrating himself into Scott Parker's possession based style of play, Red initially struggled under the stewardship of the former West Ham and Tottenham midfielder, falling behind the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Aboubakar Kamara in the pecking order for the role of lone striker in Parker's preferred 4-3-3 formation.

Struggling to find a place for his new recruit in his chosen system, Parker attempted to find a solution for Reid by deploying the forward in various positions along the front line, be it out wide or as a number nine, yielding mixed results.

The 27-year-old has now however seemingly found his calling in recent weeks, with Parker's decision to deploy the player in the midfield three giving Reid a seemingly new lease of life.

Acting as something of a box to box link between attack and defence, Red's workrate and dribbling ability allows Fulham to break forward quickly, with the player capable of turning defence into attack quickly when he drives into open space.

Combining Reid's skill set with that of Messrs Tom Cairney and Harry Arter gives the Cottagers the perfect balance, thus allowing the trio to provide a good defensive screen in front of the Fulham backline when out of possession whilst also providing subsequent support to Mitrovic in the final third via central areas when on the attack.

Though his passing accuracy and range needs some work, Reid's new position on the field of play allows the attacker to take up positions that are tougher for opposition defenders to pick up, as many central defenders are reluctant to break their line in order to track the 27-year-old's runs between the lines.

This therefore allows the Whites to create more overloads in central areas when they are looking to maintain possession within the opposition's half, thus making their approach play a lot tougher to defend against.

The subsequent overload in the centre allows the side's wingers, Ivan Cavaleiro and Anthony Knockaert, more space to operate in as a result, thus increasing the probability of the wide players getting to the byline and putting in a cross or performing a cut back for their teammates to get on the end of.

Discovering a new role in this current Fulham side could well define the future years of Reid's career, with the player well into his prime years as a professional after enjoying previous spells with the likes of Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle.

Given his age, it is natural to assume that the attacker's pace is likely to be reduced as he gets older, thus making the possibility of establishing himself as a regular in the centre of midfield even more likely, particularly if the player wishes to prolong his playing days into his early 30s.

Many forward players have made such an adaptation in the past with Alan Smith and more recently Wayne Rooney having become midfield players in the latter years of their careers, with the position allowing them to display their talents without the exertion of having to lead the line.

After a slow start to life in the capital, Reid is now well on his way towards re-establishing himself as one of the best utility men in the Championship, ahead of what promises to be a pivotal summer in the 27-year-old's career.