From the Sidelines (From Your Local Guardian)

From the Sidelines

10:52am Friday 20th June 2008

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The summer transfer market may be in a fairly stagnant state at present, but Brentford boss Andy Scott has wasted little time in beefing up his options for next season, with five new boys unveiled at Griffin Park already this summer.

Marcus Bean, Sam Wood, Moses Ademola and Ben Hamer have all joined the Bees since hostilities ended in May, and hopefully these players - who bring with them an intriguing blend of youth and experience - will help launch a League Two promotion assault next season.

However, the most curious of the close season signings in my mind has been the acquisition of 20-year-old centre-back Leigh Mills on a season-long loan from Spurs.

On hearing the news earlier this week that Mills had agreed to join Scott's charges, my mind immediately floated back in time to 2004, when the tall and imposing defender was the talk of my home town club, Swindon Town.

Every club in the country has a rookie within their ranks at one time or another who is dubbed "the next big thing" as they make their way up through the youth system - and the Robins have never been any different - but, in the case of young Mills, the hype and expectation was nothing short of extraordinary.

At the age of 15, the home-town player had scouts from across the country queuing up to see him in action, while then-Town manager Andy King hailed the youngster as one of the most prodigious talents he had ever come across.

He was made captain of England U16s and became the subject of a protracted tug of war between Spurs and Everton - all this before he had even made a single first-team appearance. Then, Mills made national headlines when Spurs paid Swindon a staggering £700,000 for his signature in July 2004.

The tall centre-back was just 16 and had not even made the subs' bench at the County Ground. The most hotly anticipated talent the town had produced in a generation - and no one had ever seen him in action. I kept his name in my mind, and always anticipated hearing of him again. He is yet to force his way into the Spurs first team but has gone on to represent England at every level, currently playing for the U20s. It was a pleasant shock to hear that he had joined my new local club, the Bees.

I predict that he will be a big hit at Griffin Park, and hope that he lives up to the huge potential that he garnered as a teenager at the County Ground.