As the transfer deadline fast approaches, Cardiff City are in dire need of both a striker and a central midfielder. Social media is in meltdown as names continue to be linked, with little coming from the club.
From Tom Huddlestone to Harry Arter, we’ve had them all. The team at View From The Ninian sat down to give their opinions on some left-field options for City’s striker and central midfield needs.
Paul Gronow
Striker – Peter Crouch, menace in both boxes and a proven Premier League goal scorer who has an abundance of experience and would be cheap to buy. Would also play to our strengths.
Midfielder – Charlie Adam, battle axe and old Premier League head who’d breathe fire into the middle of the park and drag us kicking back into games. Also has a belting free kick.
Ben James
Striker – Saido Berahino. If you look through Stoke’s squad, they have a raft of players I’d want to take. Bruno Martins Indi, Darren Fletchers, Geoff Cameron to name but a few. But one player I’d take in a heartbeat, if the deal was right, is Berahino. He’s had a fallow few years but he’s still got talent and if the deal was right, he could be a masterstroke signing.
Midfielder – Jake Livermore. West Brom’s meteoric demise last year didn’t blemish Livermore’s rise and he was a standby for England’s World Cup squad. So why hasn’t anyone taken a punt on him? He started in West Brom’s opener against Bolton and with a few days left of the transfer window, I wonder how many clubs will be looking at him as an option. He would give us something different in the middle of the park and we might be able to get him on a season long loan.
Scott Salter
Striker – Divock Origi. Liverpool need to offload some strikers and it looks like Divock Origi’s time at the club could be coming to an end. We wouldn’t be able to buy him outright, but offering Origi the chance to play week in week out in the Premier League via a loan at Cardiff could work well for all parties.
Midfielder – Stephane Mbia. Fresh from a spell in China, the former Sevilla player is available on a free. He’s combative and would add a bit of steel to the City midfield. There’s question marks over his fitness – particularly with no pre-season – but he could be a signing similar to when Leicester brought in Esteban Cambiasso on a free.
Scott Johnson
Lucas Perez – There is a deal to be done here. Perez never really got a fair crack of the whip at Arsenal, but looked an accomplished player when afforded an opportunity. He’s been linked with permanent moves back to Spain for about £4m, which is within Cardiff’s reach even if his wages are not.
Perez has thus far rebuffed any advances as he wants to make his mark at Arsenal. So why not loan him to Cardiff, allowing him to prove his point on heavily subsidise his reported £70,000-a-week wages? You know it makes sense!
Claudio Yacob – People are crying out for more Premier League experience in the Cardiff squad, so in many respects Claudio Yacob is a gift from the gods. Having anchored the West Brom midfield for many years, he is now a free agent looking for a home.
Again, wages are an issue because Yacob was one of West Brom’s best paid players, up there around the £60k mark with Salomon Rondon and Rodriguez. But he’s the wrong side of 30 now and without have to pay a transfer fee, there is plenty of scope for jiggery-pokery.