Around the league: Transfer window round-up part 2

Fulham’s business so far

With an owner who wants to buy Wembley for £600m, is it any wonder they are so willing to splash the cash? With four transfers in already, they’ve spent around £40m and some of those players would come under the coup category. Schurrle coming in on loan is a bold move – he didn’t set the world alight at Chelsea but he has obvious talent – and Jean Seri is certainly an eye-catching transfer. If they can’t get Mitrovic in full-time, they’ll need a striker and they probably need to replace Fredericks who chose to move to West Ham.

How will Cardiff fare?

Fulham fans believe we shouldn’t be allowed to play on the same pitch as them because they play artisanal football while Cardiff play football scraped from the bottom of a recycling bin. So, all rational thought goes out the window and we will beat them 3-1, twice.

Huddersfield’s business so far

Wagner is pretty shrewd when it comes to his business and he’s already brought in half-a-dozen signings who will compete for the first team – and a couple for the future too. The headline signings are impressive with Erik Durm – German International-, Terrance Kongolo – a Dutch international -, and Adama Diakhaby – a French U-21 striker – probably being the headline signings. They’ve got rid of some of the dead wood too – who knew Sean Scannell was still a thing? – and look set to improve upon their 16th place finish last term.

How will Cardiff fare?

The season Huddersfield got promoted, we did the double over them and they looked ordinary. Obviously, they have improved since then but I don’t have any other reference points at this stage so indulge me. Wagner gets his team working hard so him against Warnock could be the battle of two footballing philosophies that share the same roots. We visit the McAlpine (now John Smith’s stadium) at the end of August and can see us picking up a draw. Then an early January home tie will see Cardiff run out 3-1 winners.

Leicester City’s business so far

Couple of shrewd signings, one big name departure. Mahrez has finally departed the King Power and shacked up with Pep at Manchester City. A cool £60m fee means they worked quick to replace him with James Maddison from Norwich. Maddison was class for Norwich last year and has the fearless spirit to take the Prem by storm. They’ve brought in Ricardo Perreira from Porto who could be a threat down the flanks. They’ve also signed Danny Ward to vie for the number one spot with Kasper and Johnny ‘should’ve signed for Arsenal when had the chance’ Evans. I don’t see them losing any more major players but they could probably do with a striker to supplement Vardy’s goals up top.

How will Cardiff fare?

It seems slightly odd that Claude Puel is still in charge; perhaps it’s the Mandela effect, but I was sure he’d been sacked last year. EIther way, he’ll be under pressure to hit the ground running and if results aren’t going for him, their visit to the CCS in November could be fascinating. A win for Cardiff, and it could be the final nail in his coffin. I can envisage a testy affair, perhaps a 1-1 draw. We then play them just 6 weeks later in Leicester when new manager Gareth Southgate will oversee a 3-1 victory for Leicester.

Liverpool’s business so far?

Liverpool were quickest out the traps with their signing of Fabinho and Naby Keita finally joining the club. Their key move will, of course, be the world-record fee they paid for Alisson and that could be their make or break this season. They’ve got the attacking force and a decent enough defence to contend so shoring up between the sticks should take them up another level. Losing Emre Can to Juve might have an impact but they had to do without him for much of the second half of last season so they should be better prepared for that. Oh, and they signed Shaqiri too because of course they did.

How will Cardiff fare?

Let’s not be silly, they are going to beat us 3-1 at Anfield in October. We then play them in April in a hot-tempered affair where Warnock and Klopp clash several times on the sidelines over Cardiff’s rough treatment of Salah and Firminho. Cardiff will take the lead before Liverpool come back and win 3-1. Warnock and Klopp embrace at the end of the game and everyone has a lovely time.

Manchester City’s business so far

They’ve spent big on Riyad Mahrez and spent little on a few other players who’ll slot into their reserve and under 23 teams. Do they need to spend? Probably not. They’ve spent a lot to get their side to where it is now. It feels like they may need another centre-back if Kompany is going to get injured again. But how can you improve on greatness?

How will Cardiff fare?

Expect a raucous atmosphere on September 22nd as Man City come and get a win at the CCS and expect Joe Bennett to be booed to the hilt at the Etihad where Manchester City run out 3-1 winners. Sorry guys, it’s Man City. They are, like, good.

Manchester United’s business so far

Fred is their headline signing so far (not that Brazilian Fred, the other Brazilian Fred) from Shakhtar. He’s meant to be good, like. They’ve also spent £19m on a 19-year-old from Porto, Diego Dalot, so Jose really means business. They’ve lost Daley Blind which will inconsequential to everyone and there’s a small rumour over Pogba potentially going back to Juve. They should probably sign another striker to help out Lukaku and Sanchez needs to pull his finger out.

How will Cardiff fare?

Mourinho is already in his self-destructive, I’m super annoyed, mood. We play them at home three days before Christmas and I can already see Sean Morrison scoring a late equaliser prompting Mourinho to storm down the tunnel at 92 minutes. He then waits an hour before speaking to the press where he complains about having to travel to a different country to play. Or something. We then go to Old Trafford on the last day of the season where we win 3-1 because Jose has decided to play a starting XI of season ticket holders in protest at not being good enough to win the league.

 

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