BLUEBIRDS V HUDDERSFIELD BUILD-UP
CARDIFF City boss Neil Warnock has confirmed that he hasn’t given up hope on bringing Emiliano Sala to the club, but admits he’s not confident of getting a deal over the line.
Warnock confirmed that he flew out to France this week to watch the Argentinian, who played 82 minutes for Nantes in their 2-0 win over Montpellier.
But despite holding a meeting with club chief Waldemar Kita, Warnock admits that he’s not optimistic about City’s prospects of landing the £20 million-rated star, but says there are several other possible options, adding that the French market is one that the club are taking a closer look at.
Asked if a deal for Sala was still alive, Warnock said: “Not really. It’s very up in the air in the moment. There’s a number of players we’re looking at, especially in the French market. But nothing concrete at all.
“I spoke to the owner and his son. They’ve got one or two decent players there!
“He’s one of a number of players we were looking at. The game the other night, even though he was playing there were two or three others we were looking at.
“Anything can happen. I’ve not written anything off, but I’m not optimistic about anything. There’s nothing concrete with anybody. Things change all the time. The January window is the worst ever window.”
However, Warnock remains optimistic about getting the striker he so craves in this window, hinting that the club have already identified other possible targets.
“Nothing’s completely off the agenda,” he added. “Quite a few things will have to change for it to be back on. We’ve got five targets to get one striker whereas last week we only have three. So there’s a few more opportunities, but it’s a case of getting one over the line.”
One prospect from the French league that won’t be heading to the Cardiff City Stadium is Nice midfielder Adrien Tameze, with the club pulling out of a deal this week.
“We looked at him, but at the moment it’s not a goer,” Warnock said when asked about the 24-year-old.
“We’ve been close with one or two players.
“But one of those deals could be back on. I don’t think I can say anything to you until someone has signed a contract. At the same time they’re speaking to me agents are offering them to five or six other clubs.
“I don’t want players to just come for the money. We’re a great club with a great fanbase. If we’ve got to get on with what we’ve got I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”
Warnock also moved to quash any suggestion that he could be weighing up a move for former Tottenham winger Clinton N’Jie.
“It’s one of many we’ve looked at but I’m not really looking at wide players. That’s the least of our worries really,” added the veteran boss.
In view of the uncertainty surrounding Sala, Warnock has suggested he could be prepared to hand Rhys Healey his chance to shine in the Premier League.
Having signed a new three-year contract with the Bluebirds last season, the 24-year old has returned from a recent fruitful loan spell at Milton Keynes, where he scored nine goals in 21 games.
MK boss Paul Tisdale has already admitted that he’d “love to get him back” in this window and Warnock admits he’s at a crossroads in terms of where to go next with the highly-rated forward.
Another loan spell hasn’t been ruled, although Warnock insists that MK are the only club that he would consider doing a deal with.
He added: “If he is involved with us, he can only go back to MK Dons, he can’t go anywhere else, so I’ve got to think about that. He’s done brilliantly at MK Dons and he’s looked sharp in training.”
Warnock has made little secret of his desire to get a new striker on board, nevertheless he admits that there is a possibility that he may have to work with what he’s got.
“The window is a bit like climbing a mountain with butter on your hands,” he said. “One minute you think you’re almost there and then you slide back down.
“You get your hopes up and say yes that’s a done deal and then the next day it’s not a done deal.
“You’ve got to learn to live with that and say that if we don’t get any players in we’ve got to get points with what we’ve got and continue the miracle.
“The lads are brilliant. If I was going into the trenches, I would like them alongside me.
“There’s some much worse situations than ours.”
That situation would potentially leave the door open for Healey, who’s been tipped for a bright future by those in the know at City, and Warnock himself has no doubt he can prove a success in the Premier League.
“You know what you’re getting with Rhys. He’s an absolute gem of a lad. He’ll cause problems. Even at this level he’ll cause problems.
“I won’t have any problems. If I don’t get anyone make no mistake he won’t be going anywhere.”