Gunnar deal was never in doubt – Cardiff chief
CARDIFF City have completed “90 per cent” of their summer transfer business with only a few deals to be done before they are Premier League ready.
That’s according to the Bluebirds’ hierarchy, whose precise and measured approach – aided by Neil Warnock’s guiding hand on the tiller – have made the club confident about surviving in the top flight.
Many expected Cardiff to operate on a limited budget this summer after winning promotion on the final day of a rollercoaster 2017/18 campaign.
And though they have surprised a few by spending around £28million in total on Josh Murphy, Greg Cunningham, Alex Smithies and Bobby Reid, the purse strings are staying fairly tight.
Supporters can expect the £11million and £10million fees for Murphy and Reid respectively to be the biggest outlays from Cardiff this summer, with two loan deals – plus one or two departures – on the horizon.
CEO and executive director Ken Choo is overseeing a methodical strategy in the Bluebirds’ boardroom this summer, putting into motion a plan that was devised well before the final whistle sounded against Reading in May.
That has included targeting four permanent signings, which have all been rubber-stamped early in the summer, with the emphasis now on securing two loan deals.
There’s also been a process of rewarding the 2017/18 promotion stars, eight of whom – following confirmation that Aron Gunnarsson signed a one-year extension – agreed new bumper contracts.
Sean Morrison, Joe Ralls and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing were among them, with Neil Etheridge, Junior Hoilett and Joe Bennett all previously agreeing new deals.
“The owner wants to reward the team, those who are very loyal to the squad,” said Choo. “The thing with those contract extensions people might say ‘we don’t need to extend them,’ but Vincent has done so and I think it shows a lot of trust that he has in the current squad.
“We asked the players if they want to stay at the club or if they wanted to move on – and ten out of ten said they love it here and they want to continue to fight for the club.
“Vincent is happy to hear that and there’s a good relationship between the players, the management and the owner. We put so many pens to paper in such a quick time-frame.”
On Gunnarsson, Choo allayed fears that the Icelandic captain had been on the verge of leaving Cardiff.
Gunnarsson was technically without a club for more than a week but the Bluebirds hierarchy say they were always confident he wanted to stay and continue the club’s relentless charge under Warnock.
Choo and Tan are close to Gunnarsson and view him as a key figure around the club, a role which will continue until the end of the season at least.
“It was never in doubt,” added Choo. “He was a bit busy with his World Cup games, but we’ve always been in contact and we’ve always expressed interest in him staying at Cardiff City. We’re very happy to see him back next week.
“From a dressing room point of view and contributing as one of the leaders in the group, it’s fairly significant. “He’s always been able to grind out results and he has the maturity to pick the boys up and to step up when things are tough.”
Choo then confirmed that Cardiff were chasing another two loan deals with everyone at the club very satisfied with the business completed so far.
Marko Grujic is expected to be one of those loans. Lee Tomlin is among those who may depart after attracting interest from Nottingham Forest.
“The four players we signed were very precise signings,” said Choo.
“We were looking at them for months and they were not second options, they were exactly the people we wanted in the club.
“And the integration of the four boys with the current squad, on the first day of training you could see, it was like they’d known each other for ages. That integration of foreign elements in the club is the most significant to us.
“Most of our work is now done, apart from maybe two more loan signings that we are planning to do. But we’re 90 per cent there.”