FREDDIE GETS HIS CHANCE TO WOO WELSH
FREDERIC Gounongbe has been out of favour at Cardiff for more than a year, but Neil Warnock has given the Belgian striker hope he could have a future in the Welsh capital.
The Benin striker last played for the Bluebirds in December 2016 and has been plagued by injury, even requiring surgery on a pelvic issue.
But, with Cardiff losing Kenneth Zohore to injury, Warnock has hinted that Gounongbe could come back into consideration and even imitate his strike partner in recovering from a slow start at the club.
Warnock said of the 29year-old: “Freddy has looked really sharp. He’s been really good this week in training. Why can’t he do a Zohore?
“He’s been very frustrated. He’s had a bad injury and a lot of family problems, and he’s still overcome all of that. He’s trained really hard.
“I asked him if he could feature a couple of weeks ago and he said he wasn’t quite ready, but he’s getting there now.
“He’s the best at holding the ball up and he’s definitely the best header of the strikers.
“With the situation with Ken and other strikers, he’ll come into the reckoning now.”
So far, Gounongbe’s Cardiff career has been best summed up by his dreadful miss against Birmingham in the opening game of last season.
However, Warnock is confident he can still turn things around.
He added: “If he can keep injury-free, then you just don’t know what’s around the corner because he is a big problem for defenders. You never know what’s around the corner with strikers”
“The scout who gave me Loic Damour when I came to the club told me: ‘You will like the lad, he’s your cup of tea’, but unfortunately, it’s been one injury after another – plus Kenneth’s form.”