Striker light... the full array of front men Cardiff have been linked with
CARDIFF City’s problems in the striker position right now are no secret to anyone. Despite Danny Ward’s positive introduction to the team, which began with a goal against Arsenal the Bluebirds are still unsure of their main centre forward, with Bobby Reid more natural in a No.10 role and neither Kenneth Zohore or Gary Madine firing.
Neil Warnock’s pursuit of a striker towards the end of the summer was also well documented, but Cardiff looked for midfield additions – which came in the shape of Harry Arter and Victor Camarasa on deadline day.
That’s not to say Cardiff weren’t linked with a whole host of frontmen during the transfer window.
Some stayed at their clubs and others moved to Premier League rivals.
So, with Warnock almost certain to scour the January market for a striker, here’s how those men Cardiff didn’t sign are faring so far this season...
Danny Ings - 8/10
CARDIFF made a late, late play for Ings on deadline day with the striker keen to move away from Liverpool, where his game time was severely limited.
But the Bluebirds couldn’t prevent the 26-year-old moving to boyhood club Southampton on an initial loan deal (which will become permanent with an £18million fee) instead.
And Ings has started superbly for the Saints, scoring three goals in five Premier League games – as many as he managed in his entire three-year Liverpool spell. He’s started every game, bar the season’s opener at Burnley.
The pacy striker may prove the difference between relegation and survival for Mark Hughes’ side and Cardiff may rue missing out on his signature.
Troy Deeney - 8/10
THE interest in Deeney was apparently genuine, with a £15million bid mooted but Cardiff faced financial obstacles, not to mention Deeney’s loyalty to Watford, which made it impossible to get a deal over the line.
The Watford skipper had been out of favour towards the end of the last season but has come good in the
Hornets’ blistering start to the new campaign.
Deeney has missed just one minute of Premier League action so far, removed in the 89th minute following a stunning individual performance when Watford beat Burnley 3-1.
His two goals and one assist have fired the Hertfordshire club into the Premier League’s top four at this stage, to the surprise of pretty much everyone. Would surely have been a superb signing for Warnock, but the deal was never really going to happen.
Tammy Abraham - 7/10
A POTENTIAL target that went
unnoticed until Warnock’s comments in the build-up to Cardiff’s game at Chelsea last week.
The veteran boss revealed he made a play for the former Swansea loanee but was not called back by representatives at Stamford Bridge, with the loan move thus never materialising.
England-capped striker Abraham stayed with the Chelsea squad until after the Premier League window closed, but Championship clubs could still do loan business – with Aston Villa swooping in.
The 20-year-old has started well
enough for Steve Bruce’s men, scoring in the 2-0 win over Rotherham on Tuesday night.
Salomon Rondon - 5/10
LINKS between Cardiff and the Venezuelan international seemed to linger on throughout the summer, but the price tag West Brom slapped on one of their prized assets made things difficult.
In the end, it was only a loan swap deal involving Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle that persuaded the Baggies to part with Rondon – although Rafa Benitez has been reluctant to use his new No.9 so far.
Rondon has started just two of the Magpies’ five league games so far and was an unused substitute in the 0-0 draw against Cardiff.
His only goal came in the Carabao Cup defeat against Nottingham Forest.
It’s a record which suggests he might not have hit the ground running for the Bluebirds either.
The rest
AS with every summer transfer window, a whole host of names were linked with a move to Cardiff, though none of them happened, of course.
Fleetingly, Alvaro Negredo, Abel Hernandez and Andre Gray were all reportedly on the Bluebirds’ radar.
Negredo ended up going from Besiktas to Emirati club Al-Nasir, Hernandez got a lucrative move from Hull City to CKSA Moscow – and has scored a couple of goals – while Gray has partnered Deeney with some success at Watford.
Whether Cardiff go back in for any of the names listed remains to be seen, though Warnock is likely to oversee some recruitment in the final third of the pitch.