Michael Appleton made several signings for Blackpool this summer and one name that he managed to secure on a short-term deal was Ian Poveda from Leeds.

He's already thrown the 22-year-old into some league action for the Seasiders and having been impressed with his performances, the club's boss has told LancsLive that he feels Poveda has had a 'great start' and could be a 'big signing' for their squad this campaign.

The youngster has already made his Leeds debut, having featured in the Championship for them as a 19-year-old. He managed four showings and one assist as the Whites managed to finally seal both the second tier title and a spot back in the Premier League.

Even though the club had to contend with competing a league higher, he still got ample opportunity to get on the field though. Boss Marcelo Bielsa trusted him to produce the goods in the top flight despite his youth and gave him a further 14 appearances in the Premier League (although none of those were starts).

With the club feeling he could use some more regular action, he was subsequently loaned out to Blackburn last season to play in the Championship again. Although some of his campaign saw him sidelined with injury, he still managed four starts with one goal and three assists. That led to a record of 0.72 goals or assists per 90 and prompted the Seasiders to snap him up on another short-term deal this year.

Now, it appears boss Appleton is already seeing the talent that Poveda has and can offer to Blackpool this campaign. He made his first start for them against Huddersfield and completed more dribbles than anyone on the field, whilst also hitting the woodwork. He looked a real star for the club already and Appleton has revealed to LancsLive that he has been impressed with the youngster.

He said: "I don't want to sort of big him up too much but he had a good day. A great first full start for the club, he's got bags of ability and what surprised me was that he had the energy to keep going for 75 minutes and if we can get his fitness levels up to where I know he's capable of, he could be a big, big signing for us."

The Verdict

Michael Appleton will be absolutely delighted to see Ian Poveda slot in with such ease at Blackpool already.

He's certainly a talent or at least is viewed as one, with Leeds giving him chances in both the Championship despite being near the top of the table in that campaign and in the Premier League. Even Blackburn offered him plenty of football last season when he wasn't sidelined.

Now, this could be a campaign in which he really does the business and kicks on. There hasn't been too much seen of Poveda yet because he just hasn't been able to get those regular minutes and regular starts at a club yet. The signs are though that Blackpool could be the club at which he manages it.

If he does, then he could repay them massively - and Seasiders' fans may be left asking 'Josh Bowler who?' by the time the campaign comes to a close.