Bluebirds set to seal a move for Cunningham
CARDIFF City are set to make it a double transfer swoop by landing highlyrated Preston left-back Greg Cunningham in a deal approaching £4million.
The capture of the Preston player Neil Warnock rates as amongst the finest full-backs in the Championship will follow hot on the heels of Cardiff’s £11m swoop for Norwich winger Josh Murphy.
Three further Bluebirds signings should also happen quickly, one further permanent deal and two on loan for the entire 2018-19 campaign. There is also the prospect of a third loan signing, which would take the total number of newcomers this summer to six.
Warnock was always targeting a classy winger, new full-back, plus two midfield men and a back up striker to Kenneth Zohore as he plans Cardiff’s Premier League campaign.
We understand talks over Cunningham are well advanced and it is a matter of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. The move is win-win for Cardiff, Preston and the player himself, who at 27 gets the chance to shine in the Premier League.
Warnock lands a left-back he has been chasing for the best part of a year, while Preston get between £3-4m for a player who soon enters the final year of his contract and could negotiate his departure for free in January.
The capture of Cunningham may appear to some to throw a question mark over Fulham target and current Cardiff left-back Joe Bennett, who got better and better as the promotion season wore on.
However, the Bluebirds have no intention of selling Bennett and Warnock regards him as an important cog in Cardiff’s Premier League planning.
Warnock needs greater strength in depth in the top flight and could rotate Bennett and Cunningham in the leftback berth, or he could also devise a way of playing the two men together in the same starting XI.
Preston were keen to offer Cunningham a new deal, but he is reluctant to put pen to paper when there is the prospect of Premier League football under Warnock.
Cunningham played twice at that level for Manchester City at the end of the 2009-10 season, but has since dropped down a division to appear for Leicester, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Preston. He has won four caps for the Republic of Ireland.
Meanwhile, Lazio have been linked with a £5m swoop for Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic following his loan spell with Cardiff City.
The Serbia international became Jurgen Klopp’s first signing at Anfield in January 2016 although he struggled for regular game time under the German boss.
He made six appearances in all competitions for the Reds’ first team last term before being allowed to join the Bluebirds on loan in January.
The midfielder played a key role in helping Neil Warnock’s men clinch promotion, featuring 14 times in all competitions, scoring once.