Why the Championship can be Cardiff City's best friend

Why the Championship can be Cardiff City's best friend in the January transfer window



By Scott Johnson


Wednesday 9th January 2019


Neal Maupay of Brentford is a player who Cardiff City should look at

I don’t think people appreciate just how difficult the January transfer window is.

It’s totally different to the summer window, where everyone is up for grabs and anything goes. The winter window is far more reserved and clubs are far more reluctant to part with their better players, and understandably so.

There are certain types of player who are usually made available; mostly talented youngsters in need of game-time or fringe players who are not really needed.

Loan rules dictate that you can only bring in two from these shores, a piece of legislation that has clearly got Neil Warnock’s goat, so once those spots are filled, you are left to sift through bigger team’s cast-offs. There is treasure to be found, but competition is fierce.

Every player Cardiff will be in for, they will be up against every other team in the bottom half of the Premier League and they’re more established or have more spending money. You can look overseas, but unless you have an established, efficient scouting department, you are at the mercy of agents or navigating perilous, unchartered waters. This is all before having to convince players to actually join the club.

Did I mention that you only have a month to do all this? Several times if you need more than one player.

There is another way, though. Cardiff could make the most of their status and target the cream of the Championship crop. It is market they know inside and out, plus players are always far more willing to step up than step down. It will cost, as the second tier is a fertile breeding ground, but there is a wealth of talent worthy of a higher stage.




Take Neal Maupay, for example.

Brentford are a club with a tried and tested scouting model, who favour statistical analysis over more traditional methods. They brought in Maupay from Saint-Etienne for £1.6m, having made big profits on Scott Hogan and Andre Gray before him.

Brentford are having a difficult season, but Maupay has already soared to 15 goals for the campaign and is right up there in terms of assists too with six. He can drift wide or drop deep to receive possession and is lethal in front of goal. Still only 22, he looks the complete centre-forward and would probably jump at the chance to continue his progress at someone like Cardiff.

Che Adams, also 22, cost Birmingham a comparable amount of money and has scored a comparable amount of goals this season. Both players would probably set Cardiff back what they spent for Josh Murphy or Bobby Reid, but both would also represent an investment in the way that a player nearer his thirties would. In the way that Gary Madine did.


Madine is the elephant in the room because despite shuffling off to Sheffield United on loan, his failure still casts a shadow. Cardiff probably should have cut him loose in the summer because he played only 31 minutes in total this season and he wouldn’t have been missed. He also acts as a timely reminder that not everyone is a winner when shopping in the Championship.

Yet while there are players of Joe Allen and Bradley Dack’s calibre knocking about, the Championship will remain an avenue very much worth exploring. Although, some players may be more willing to stay put and fight for the title, rather than move up a level and fight the drop.

Take someone like Jay Rodriguez for example. He is far too good to be playing in the second tier, but West Brom have a very good squad, arguably better than Cardiff’s, is very well paid and has serious designs on a swift return. He might be difficult for Cardiff, or anyone else, to tempt.





Jarrod Bowen of Hull City should be on Cardiff's wanted list

Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives, so for every Rodriguez or Teemu Pukki, high-flying Norwich’s attacking focal point, there is a Jonathan Kodja or an Oli McBurnie.

Cardiff specified that they are targeting a striker, defensive midfielder and right-back in the window, but have since been linked with a series of right wingers and the Championship offer a series of options in that department.

Maupay’s team-mate Ollie Watkins won the EFL Young Player of the Year prize, an award that has Dele Alli and Gareth Bale amongst the former winners. Sheffield Wednesday’s Adam Reach can play wide, centrally or as a full-back and is making a name for himself as the scorer of spectacular goals.

Cardiff have already been linked with Jarrod Bowen and Joe Lolley, the resident right wingers of Hull and Nottingham Forest respectively, but would be wise to monitor Preston’s Callum Robinson too, who can play anywhere across the front three and is among the highest scorers in the division.

For a suitable defensive midfield candidate, Warnock need look no further than his former club QPR and Massimo Luongo, who is currently starring for Australia at the Asian Cup.

Cardiff make a convincing case that Premier League experience is often an overrated commodity and Championship players can be more than capable of seamlessly making the step up. There is sometimes a tendency to over-complicate the transfer market too, when the obvious option has been staring you in the face all along.

Cardiff know the Championship and it offers a wealth of available options. It is a market they should be looking to exploit, rather than leave behind. They can probably save themselves a headache by sticking with what they know and in this instance, reaching for the low-hanging fruit.

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I disagree with Scott Johnson.

We have enough Championship players already, thats why we are struggling so much.

We need more plays like After and Camarasa

Awful article IMO.

City need quality signings to stay in the PL and not good championship players as we have them already at the club

We already have team made up of mainly Championship players, and a team who were the second best side in that Championship last season. I think we need players who have experience of playing at a higher level than Championship football, and players used to coming up against some of the best around. If you have too many Championship players in your team, chances are that is where you will end up playing.

We should rather than looking to the championship for new players we should stick to looking abroad if you wanted an example of a team who have put the foreign markets to good use look at the team we came up with wolves watching them the other night against liverpool attacking them with confidence because they have quality players.

Wolves may have won the championship but they were already premier league standard with some of the players they had. They have since strengthened and it shows. The real championship sides were us and Fulham. We aren't far off a side that will stay up but we need quality in those positions.

I made the point recently that if we really can't get anyone else we must try for Maupay and other good players from the Championship. Not the best thing, but if we do nothing I think we'll have problems. Obviously I'd prefer proven top level players but either way we're stretched for squad strength and we need new options.
I should think that a man who actually plays right back every week in the Championship is a better option than a player out of position.

The best thing about that article is the second line.
There’s quite a few on here that could do with understanding it and to stop blaming the club or our manager over transfers - failed or rumoured.

Brentford have said they will only listen to offers of 20m not sure we're willing to spend that much

A problem with championship players is that by and large that is what they are.

I have watched enough championship football this season to make me realise that a half decent player at that level will thrive. The defending at times is sunday league standard. The amount of room the players get on the ball to line up shots, take touches etc is miles apart from the PL. The closing down is at times non existent as is the attempt to win a ball back.

As one poster said a reason why we are where we are is due to having too many championship standard players in our squad.

The only benefit of getting more in now is to prepare the squad for a championship season.

Got so many people like Scott Johnson who manage to get pieces around in the paper and they only write things to rub people up the wrong he doesn't even mean half the stuff he puts out just fishes for bites.

It’s actually cheaper abroad now as the championship prices are inflated too especially in Jan.

It’s actually cheaper abroad now as the championship prices are inflated too especially in Jan.

Especially in Ligue 1 and Eredvise it's just the level that people are concerned about but you seen the likes of Suarez, Eriksen, Van Persie and Kuyt come from Eredvise and Lloris, Benzema, Essien and Drogba come from them leagues untested in the Prem.

It’s actually cheaper abroad now as the championship prices are inflated too especially in Jan.

Especially in Ligue 1 and Eredvise it's just the level that people are concerned about but you seen the likes of Suarez, Eriksen, Van Persie and Kuyt come from Eredvise and Lloris, Benzema, Essien and Drogba come from them leagues untested in the Prem.

And La Liga too as the jacks proved.