Man Utd to receive £2m as player heads for Cardiff City | OneFootball

Will Fish is the subject of a £2 million deal, with the Bluebirds looking to bring in their second defender this week.

Cardiff City are closing in on the signing of Manchester United defender Will Fish, with the 21-year-old set to complete his medical in South Wales today.

That's according to reports from Wales Online, who have also said that the move is unlikely to be announced today, with some of the finer details in the deal still to be finalised.

However, a £2 million fee is expected to be paid to the Premier League giants, securing Cardiff their second defensive signing this week after Jesper Daland joined the club from Cercle Brugge in a move that could cost £3.5 million.

The Bluebirds came close to bringing Fish to the Welsh capital back in January, but several issues within the club caused the end of their window to fall apart, leaving them waiting for the centre-back until now.

He will have to be registered before 12pm on Friday to take part in the South Wales derby on Sunday as Cardiff travel to Swansea City for the first meeting of the clubs this season - with the visitors hoping for marked improvements from their opening two league games in which they have conceded seven times, have failed to score and sit bottom of the table with zero points.

Fish impressed at Hibernian

The 21-year-old spent the last two seasons in Scotland with Hibernian, playing 66 games for the club while on loan from Manchester United.

He was extremely impressive in his final year at the club, featuring in every one of Hibs' standard league fixtures, as the Edinburgh club finished seventh before the league split into the "Championship" and "Relegation" phases.

He played just once in this second round, as his side finished behind Aberdeen, but ultimately ended their campaign on 46 points, a total that would have seen them finish seventh overall.

Fish is excellent in the air, and won 119 aerial duels in the green-and-white of Hibs, while also scoring once.

Although he is not the best defender one-on-one, it is his ability to win the ball in the air that makes him stand out compared to his competition, and at 6ft 1in he will be able to dominate against most of the division's strikers.

Fish's contract at Manchester United is set to expire next summer, so it is a deal that makes sense for both clubs, and if given minutes, he could be a game-changer for Cardiff.

Cardiff need to be better defensively against Swansea

If Fish does arrive in time for Sunday's match, then it is crucial that both Fish and Daland hit the ground-running, especially after Cardiff's poor start to the season.

They conceded goals far too easily against Burnley, being put to the sword in a superb 5-0 win for the Clarets at Turf Moor.

However, they will not face teams of that quality every week, and must make amends against Swansea.

The Swans have had a decent start to the campaign, but are not a side that are expected to remain in and around the play-off places over the course of the next nine months.

If Cardiff can stay resolute against their rivals this weekend, and their two new signings perform, then it may ease any fears that have erupted following the first two games.