With the Marko Grujic saga dragging on and Cardiff in the hunt for two central midfielders, VFTN have surveyed the options and come up with three possible alternatives. One loan, one free agent and one permanent option. All currently available and attainable.
Harry Winks
This guy is the real deal. If Cardiff fans still yearn for Aaron Ramsey, this is about as close as they could get to the real thing. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has claimed Winks is the “perfect midfielder” and refers to him as “mini Iniesta,” but that has yet to be reflected in actual appearances.
Having made only nine Premier League starts last season, Winks has yet to have his breakthrough season. Now 22, he needs and deserves regular first-team football. He is the same age as Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who had to leave Chelsea last year in search game time and ended the season playing for England at the World Cup. If Spurs are willing to let Winks leave on a temporary basis, I don’t doubt he will join Loftus-Cheek in Gareth Southgate’s squad.
Jack Rodwell
http://gty.im/1006334954
The mercenary, the boa constrictor, squeezing the life out of Sunderland and stealing a living as a professional footballer. What would you do in his position though? It’s not his fault that his club offered him such a ludicrous contract. Post-settlement, he’s free, single and ready to mingle.
There will be plenty that will blacklist Rodwell, claim he’s a rotten egg or a bad influence, but this is a 27-year-old guy that was tipped for greatness and has moved for an eight-figure sum on two occasions. He’s had injury problems in the past, but is in great shape and is currently on trial at Watford, where he has impressed.
Whether they see fit to offer Rodwell a contract remains to be seen and maybe the terms he is looking for are substantial again, but he represents an interesting option. Especially if Cardiff can’t secure their targets before the transfer window closes.
Didier Ndong
http://gty.im/904478030
Returning to the car crash that is Sunderland, Didier Ndong still there, kicking and screaming to try and escape the prospect of League One football. Cardiff fans might remember him for the red card he received for crunching Junior Hoilett in a 4-0 home win last season.
I’m not doing a great job of selling him, am I? Yet if you scratch beneath the surface, you’ll find the kind of defensive midfield specialist that Cardiff do not have. A player that cost Sunderland £13.5m two years ago and would move for a fraction of that now, making him very much a Moneyball option.
Ndong reminds me of Idrissa Gueye, who underwhelmed in a relegated Aston Villa side and was a surprise signing for Everton, where he has since impressed. Cardiff have already been linked with him too, so he is already on their radar. Maybe it is time to revive that interest.