CITY’S BIG TRANSFER QUESTIONS
WE EXAMINE HOW BLUEBIRDS WILL SPEND THEIR MONEY – AND HOW MUCH – AS CLUB BUILDS FOR THE PREM
FOR Cardiff City fans, it’s like waiting for Christmas. The first deal has not yet been done and while the rest of the wider football audience gears up for the World Cup, talk in the Welsh capital will still concentrate on transfers, departures and new contracts still to be signed at Cardiff City Stadium.
Those will also be the topics discussed in the Cardiff boardroom, not to mention in a Malaysian hotel somewhere in the past few days – the location for big budget talks between the two key figures, Neil Warnock and Vincent Tan.
Warnock has already stated he won’t over-spend and that he wants five or six new signings. June is now with us and there’s 71 days until the summer transfer window closes on the earlier date of August 9.
But how much money will the Bluebirds spend?
Who will arrive and depart? And why haven’t we seen any transfers completed yet?
The unanswered questions will be resolved in time. This is what Cardiff City fans can expect from the next two months or so...
The incoming transfers
For Warnock, five new players in specific positions are taking precedence: a striker, a right-back, a winger and two central midfielders. After that, he may eye a left-back and goalkeeping cover.
There’s also the strong possibility that one or more of Cardiff’s 2017/18 loanees will be retained, most likely Craig Bryson whose attitude and work rate Warnock loves. The Bluebirds will also monitor the situation of Marko Grujic and whether Liverpool are inclined to let him on loan for a further season.
Of the five or six new signings, two or three will come from the loan or free transfer market.
It’s an area Warnock has exploited with great success in the past. Think Sol Bamba, Junior Hoilett and even Allan McGregor who was a big hit on loan in the latter part of 2016/17.
How much Warnoock will have to spend
The main reason Warnock is targeting frees and loans is because Cardiff are limited in their budget. The club, in simple terms, want to avoid a repeat of their previous Premier League campaign.
Lessons were learned from the lavish spending under Malky Mackay on unproven players – Andreas Cornelius et al.
And while there is an acceptance at boardroom level that Cardiff need to spend some money to compete in the top flight, Warnock’s achievements on a shoestring budget so far in South Wales have shown Tan and the hierarchy that frugality can work. The Malaysian owner has mentioned scouring the market for Cardiff’s own version of Riyad Mahrez, scooped up for £450,000 by Leicester City in 2014 and turned into a Premier League winner. It’s all about value, one of the reasons Warnock is looking forensically at the Scottish market this summer. Finding his own Mahrez — or another Callum Paterson — could be crucial. Cardiff will at least be helped by the huge hike in TV revenue that comes with promotion to the Premier League. That gives them some wiggle room in the market. Nonetheless, fees such as £20million for Andre Gray or £16million for Salomon Rondon — that have been touted in media reports this summer — may be out of the Bluebirds’ reach. But £10million on a striker or kingpin creative midfielder is realistic. Think a maximum £20million overall
The club, in simple terms, want to avoid a repeat of their previous Premier campaign Dominic Booth
spend on a couple of key players with top-flight pedigree (that is key for Warnock) and you will be close to the mark. In an ideal world Warnock would love a more expansive budget, but he’s been stung by silly spending at places like QPR in the past and will know that money doesn’t necessarily mean survival.
Who will leave
Thankfully, Warnock has already trimmed the fat from his squad and the return of several loanees — Yanic Wildschut, Jamie Ward, Armand Traore and Liam Feeney among them — will start a further exodus of sorts on June 30.
The Bluebirds’ retained list, expected to be announced next week, will likely see Greg Halford, Brian Murphy, Frederic Gounongbe and Ibrahim Meite depart upon the expiry of their contracts.
Stars like Lee Tomlin, Anthony Pilkington and Kadeem Harris may leave if the club receive the right cash offer. If not, they will all be handy options in Warnock’s squad.
Others such as Lee Camp, Rhys Healey and Stuart O’Keefe will surely depart on loan.
There are new deals on the table for Junior Hoilett and Aron Gunnarsson, with Warnock very keen to hang onto both men.
And there’s also the Premier League squad size constraints to consider. Cardiff will have to name a squad of no more than 25 players (excluding homegrown players Under-21) by the transfer deadline on August 9.
When deals will get done
If previous transfer windows are anything to go by, it could all go down to the wire on deadline day.
Throw in the complications brought by a World Cup summer and the fact Premier League seasons start a week later than in the Championship and it looks like late July will see the busiest transfer period.
The recruitment search for Warnock and his staff started even before promotion was sealed, but it has now reached the stage where fans are expectant.
The wait goes on, but plans and budgets are in place for Cardiff to step onto the next rung of the ladder.