Companion for my cat?

Hi everyone! I’m looking for views on whether I should get a friend for my cat.

My cat, Vlad, currently lives with my mum. He moved in with her whilst I was at uni. I’m graduating in a couple weeks and have found a new place for me and him. This coincides with my mum moving house and asking me to take Vlad back.

Vlad moved into my mum’s house with three other cats. He immediately became best pals with my mum’s lovely black cat, Luther, who unfortunately died last year. Vlad’s alright with the other cats and will sleep with them etc. but the affection is nowhere near what he had with Luther. I have no other cats so Vlad would be alone with me. He did live alone with me before moving into my mum’s and had never met any of her cats. My mum also got a new cat whilst I was studying and Vlad was fine with him despite the new cat being a (very cute!) bully.

Anyway, my question is whether Vlad needs another cat with him. I’m planning on keeping him alone for 3-6 months to see how he is but don’t know how I’ll be able to tell if he is lonely. All cats I’ve had previously have not been sociable at all. Vlad’s not really sociable (weirdly he does not play at ALL) but he is very cuddly and wants to be babied by my mum’s cats. I just don’t know! Has anyone got a cat similar to Vlad and, if so, did you get them a pal?