UPDATED: NEIL ETHERIDGE SIGNS FOR CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB

Birmingham have signed an excellent goalkeeper and signed him for peanuts imo

Birmingham have signed an excellent goalkeeper and signed him for peanuts imo

i agree.. just hope it doesnt bite us

Birmingham have signed an excellent goalkeeper and signed him for peanuts imo

i agree.. just hope it doesnt bite us

Agree with you both .

Birmingham have signed an excellent goalkeeper and signed him for peanuts imo

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Agree Birmingham have signed a very good keeper but the keeper we have is even better which is why Etheridge can't get in the team. It would be absolute madness to keep him when we can get a million pounds for him and save another million on wages. Keepers don't get injured much so Smithies is likely to play all season. Great business by Cardiff paticularly in the current climate.

Was a great keeper for us during his time with us and wish him all the best for the future.

Not sure about Joe Day as a number two - I've not seen too much of him to be honest but from what I have seen I wouldn't like to rely on him for a promotion push should Smithies get injured.

Wonder if we'll look for an older more experienced keeper or look to use a youngster as third choice?

Such a shame. I really like Etheridge, he was excellent in his first two seasons with us. And only £800k? A year ago £7m was being rumoured. But better to get some money now than see him go for nothing at the end of the season, and over a million saved in wages on a player who would have sat on the bench. I'm sure he'd get a good welcome on his return to CCS if we were all there.

Such a shame. I really like Etheridge, he was excellent in his first two seasons with us. And only £800k? A year ago £7m was being rumoured. But better to get some money now than see him go for nothing at the end of the season, and over a million saved in wages on a player who would have sat on the bench. I'm sure he'd get a good welcome on his return to CCS if we were all there.

I agree,was a good servant,and although I would have expected a fee over 1m,but we get that,and save his wage,which we can use elswhere.I guess these kind of fees will be normal for a while,clubs are struggling to stay afloat after covid,so whilst dissapointed, I accept it.at least we didn't lose money on him,and made a small profit from his sale,which is a novelty for us

With the news about Mendez-Laing i think its more important we keep Etheridge now because we need the quality in the team.

What !!!! C'mon Sam FFS. Great bit of club business

Think about this as i dont usually agree with some of our sales.

City will get £200,000 if Etheridge makes 20 appearances, makes it £1mill.

Etheridge wages approx £25,000 a week, because of Prem.


City will get £1mill / plus save £1mill in wages.

I think this can be considered fairly good business all things considered, maybe more so on the wages front. Saving £25k a week with reduced income streams is massive right now.

No doubt he’ll improve the Brum side.... hopefully he doesn’t play too well against us!

Neil Etheridge has completed his transfer to Birmingham City in a deal which could potentially net Cardiff City £2m , £800,000 now plus add ons.

The Bluebirds had been eager to streamline their goalkeeping options this summer, with Alex Smithies, Etheridge and Joe Day all on the roster.

Neil Harris felt there was an imbalance and wanted to address that as a matter of priority.

The manager felt the sale of Etheridge made the most business sense, given he had the most transfer value and only 10 months left to run on his contract.

It means the Bluebirds will net a potential £2m from the sale of the Philippines international and all fans will surely acknowledge that the Midlands club are getting a top goalkeeper at this level.




NEIL ETHERIDGE:


"Firstly I’d just like to take the time to say a massive thank you to Cardiff City FC for everything they’ve done for me," Etheridge, who signed a four-year deal at St Andrew's, wrote on Instagram.

"The past 3 years we’ve had such an amazing time together, being promoted in my first season to the Premier League, and even though we were relegated we gave it a right go in the best league in the world!

"I would like to thank all you guys, the supporters for everything, all the people behind the scenes that make that club run so that we as players can get out there end entertain and of course all the players and friends that I played with during my time with the club.

"We made some fantastic memories together and I’ll never forget the part the Club and supporters played. I wish the club every success in the future."


“I want first team football and that is the only reason why I have moved on and Cardiff City could not offer me that.”



Etheridge was the Bluebirds' Player of the Season during their 2018/19 Premier League campaign, making the second-most saves out of any goalkeeper in the division.

Etheridge was highly rated in the Premier League with offers of £8mill from West Ham, but Cardiff at the time wanted £10mill.

But he sustained a nasty hamstring injury during the first game of last season, away to Wigan, and that was the beginning of a difficult campaign for him.

He managed to wrestle his way back into the side past Smithies, but while his glovework remained top notch, it was his distribution which proved a bone of contention.

Smithies took the gloves and was sensational, winning WalesOnline's vote for Player of the Season, while narrowly finishing second to Lee Tomlin in the club's official vote.

It means Day from Newport County will now move up naturally to the No.2 spot, while 19-year-old George Ratcliffe, the Wales under-21s goalkeeper, will see a clearer pathway to senior football.

Cardiff City wrote in a statement: "Having signed for the Bluebirds as a free agent in May 2017, Neil featured in all but one of our league matches of 2017/18 – his 19 clean sheets helping to secure the club's promotion.

"He went on to earn plenty of plaudits for his top-flight displays, again hitting double figures for clean sheets and being named Cardiff City's 2019 Player of the Season in the process.

"We’d like to thank Neil for all of his efforts throughout the time he has been with us.”

With the news about Mendez-Laing i think its more important we keep Etheridge now because we need the quality in the team.

That’s a ridiculous statement. Unless Etheridge has become a top winger over the previous week or so, your comment makes no sense.

What's doubly nonsensical, is he has posted that comment after reading the op! Where it clearly states he has completed his move,no offence Sam, but keep up

With the news about Mendez-Laing i think its more important we keep Etheridge now because we need the quality in the team.

That’s a ridiculous statement. Unless Etheridge has become a top winger over the previous week or so, your comment makes no sense.

What's doubly nonsensical, is he has posted that comment after reading the op! Where it clearly states he has completed his move,no offence Sam, but keep up

Normal doubly nonsensical or Sam nonsensical?