Confirmed: Midfielder Leaves For Italians

Well, he was here. For a bit. We got excited and now he's gone. Genoa have taken Cabral on loan for the rest of the season, with a view to a permanent move.

One of De Fanti's first and most promising signings made just one Premier League appearance for us on the opening day of the season.

Cabral, speaking about his move, claims to be "a fast, aggressive number six" and he hopes to aid the Italian side to the Europa League. They currently reside ninth in Serie A.

Gus Poyet murmured that he hopes the Cape Verdean midfielder can come back an improved player, apparently. Realistically, it seems unlikely he'll return having failed to impress three head coaches during his short stint on Wearside.

It seems this was very much a De Fanti signing. Our football director cited the player in one of his only interviews, claiming he had to coax him to the club over dinner at 2AM. Having beaten off competition from the Bundesliga to bring him in, it certainly seemed an astute acquisition. I'm sure Cabral feels that was probably the worst meal of his life.

Having been so impressive in preseason it's a real mystery as to what went wrong here. He looked a real solid midfield player, with a decent range of passing and an eye for goal.

Why didn't it work out? Only he will know. Did the erratic Paolo Di Canio batter that lads confidence to such an extent that he could never recover, or was he just rubbish all along and punching above his weight?

You get the impression that his MK Dons appearance was the final nail in the coffin of a player who showed great potential, before his quick and spectacular fall from grace. I'd be incredibly surprised if the lad ever wore the red and white again.