I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess as to how many professional footballers are out of contract today, but it’s an awful lot. As a matter of course, players’ contracts last until 30 June and so, logically, you would expect plenty of announcements from clubs concerning new arrivals today that are not costing their latest club a penny in transfer fees.
You would think therefore that a club banned from paying transfer and loan fees would be busily announcing the names today of some of the players they are bringing in to try to avoid a repeat of last season’s brush, to put it mildly, with relegation, but there’s been nothing at all from Cardiff City so far. In a close season where it could be argued that quality signings are needed more than ever, I don’t think I can remember a summer in the modern era where we have waited as long as this to learn the identity of our first signing.
To be fair to the club though, I think you have to give them some latitude this time for a couple of reasons. First, I will be absolutely amazed if we still haven’t brought anyone in by next weekend – it feels like signings are imminent with the names of potential arrivals mentioned in all types of media becoming both more frequent and more convincing.
In saying that, the only name I’ve heard of in the list of players media hacks are telling us may be wearing the City blue next season is still Aaron Ramsey. Rambo confirmed in the last few days that his contract with Ligue 1 team Nice has run out – he was also at the Vale (City’s training ground) yesterday, but then so was Gareth Bale this time last year for all the good it did us!
I’ll mention one name who seems to be regarded as the favourite to be our first new signing. Twenty four year old Ike Ugbo is a six foot one inch striker who is supposedly very quick. He started off at Chelsea and had modest loan spells at Barnsley, MK Dons and Scunthorpe, but temporary moves to the Netherlands and Belgium, with Roda JC and Cercle Bruge respectively, while still with the London team were much more successful. In fact, Belgium’s most successful club in recent years, Genk, were impressed enough to sign Ugbo on a permanent basis a couple of years ago, but he was soon loaned out to Ligue 1 strugglers Troyes whom he signed for permanently in the summer of 2022.
Troyes were relegated last season with Ugbo only scoring twice in twenty four appearances for them – this came on the back of a so, so 21/22 in scoring terms and it seems now that his club are willing to let him go out on loan.
Internationally, Lewisham born Ugbo played for England at age group levels, but had declared his allegiance at senior level to Nigeria, only to change his mind shortly afterwards and opt for Canada for whom he’s won eight caps and was part of their World Cup squad. I can’t say I was that enthusiastic about this link mainly because of the player’s recent scoring record, but I’ll not make any other judgments on Ugbo until he’s signed for and then played a few games for us.
Actually, two players have signed on the dotted line for City within the last two days – out of contract pair Eli King and Joel Bagan have both penned new three year deals with the club with the length of contract in each case representing something of a vote of confidence in them by City.
However, it has also been confirmed that the third player who City had offered a contract to will be leaving the club – Mark Harris showed great commitment to and competitiveness for the City cause without ever really establishing himself and so you can’t be too down hearted about his decision, but I must say that, for a player with such a modest goalscoring record, so many of his goals came from very good finishes which suggested he could prosper in a team that creates more chances than us – it sounds daft, but I think he’s a good finisher.
Anyway, good luck to Sparky and I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned up at another Championship club.
So, now I really should discuss the second of the two reasons why I think signings will be on their way soon which I mentioned about five paragraphs ago! Erol Bulut has spoken about how he wanted to see the players he has inherited in action for a couple of games before really getting into the business of making the improvements he deems necessary.
This is the reason why pre season warm up games started a good week to ten days before they normally do with today’s match against Pen y Bont at Cardiff City Stadium. Another Cymru Premier side, TNS are the visitors on Tuesday before a couple of behind closed doors games against League One teams Cambridge United and Bristol Rovers and then against Premier League Fulham. Then there’s the camp in the Algarve where Erol Bulut confirmed in his latest press conference that we’ll be facing former Champions League winners FC Porto and another of Portugal’s stronger teams, Braga.
I won’t go into any great detail about today’s 2-0 win. On the face of it, such a score line against a side from so many levels lower than us might be a cause for concern, but, after half time in particular, this was typical first game of the season fare.
As tends to happen in such matches, the City team changed completely at half time. In fact, Callum Robinson only played half an hour in his first game back from his severe hamstring injury before being replaced by Rubin Colwill who in turn made way for his brother Joel for the last fifteen minutes.
City should have been two or three up at the interval as they looked a lot more dangerous from set pieces – Mark McGuinness headed in a Ryan Wintle near post corner early on and Kion Etete with a header against a post from another Wintle delivery, Bagan and Robinson also had chances you’d think they would have taken with more match sharpness.
Pen Y Bont with a smattering of former City youth players, an ex Welsh international in Shaun McDonald and Mark Little, a veteran of nearly five hundred EFL games, in their ranks were more comfortable in the second half until they tired in the closing minutes. City with King operating as a centreback (did he only play there because we currently don’t have enough strength in depth in that position?) only threatened more goals in the last fifteen minutes when Ollie Tanner headed in at the far post from a cross provided by the lively Keiron Evans and Ebou Adams came close on a couple of occasions.
Off the pitch, City have been ordered to pay Nantes the rest of the Emiliano Sala fee despite officials and agents who worked for the French club at the time of the transfer being arrested for money laundering and tax fraud offences. City have suggested that payment to Nantes could have been suspended until the outcome of the legal proceedings mentioned above, but to my non expert mind, the fact that City may or not have been dealing with crooks makes little difference to the mechanics of the Sala deal.
Finally, it was announced yesterday that the City’s women’s team will become the first part time professional outfit in south Wales from next season.