"Taken a toll" - Cardiff City urged to consider big Yakou Meite call | OneFootball

The striker has failed to make much of an impact with the Bluebirds since his move from Reading last summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Cardiff City look set for a massive shake-up in playing personnel next summer, with a number of stars set to see their current deals expire in the Welsh capital.

As many as 12 first-team players are in the last year of their contract with the club as it stands, with the Bluebirds likely to take action regarding the future of their side once a new manager has been found.

City are yet to replace the departing Erol Bulut as it stands, with any incoming boss likely to want to have the final say on decisions regarding the playing staff, with the division they find themselves in for the following campaign likely to have a massive effect.

With that in mind, we spoke to Football League World’s Cardiff fan pundit Jack Price about the situation surrounding one of those with their career on the line.

Yakou Meite fails to deliver for Cardiff City after Reading FC move

Yakou Meite made the move to the Cardiff City Stadium last summer, following Reading’s relegation into the third tier, and Bluebirds fans expected a lot more of a player who had found the net on a semi-regular basis during his time at the club.

The Ivorian had become a mainstay at the Madejski Stadium since making the move to English football, with over 150 league appearances for the Royals over the course of his seven-year association with the former Premier League side.

The frontman had netted some decisive goals during that time, with the Berkshire club fighting for their survival in the years preceding their eventual drop down into League One.

But since moving to Wales, the goals have dried up for the forward, with just two strikes in the previous campaign followed up by a barren start to the current campaign, which has contributed towards City sitting bottom of the table as it stands, with just five points from their opening nine league matches.

With his time at the club due to end next summer, Price has already made up his mind regarding the shot-shy striker, with the Bluebirds fan less than impressed with what he has seen from the attacker.

When asked about the forward’s situation, the City fan pundit said: “Yakou Meite is one of many Cardiff players out of contract next summer, and at this point, I would not be renewing his deal.

“Meite arrived at the start of last season, and I think he was a pretty exciting arrival at the time as well; he had built up a pretty solid body of work at Reading, and was regularly hitting double figures for goals.

“He hasn’t produced at all; he scored twice last season, and he is yet to open his account this year, so he has got two goals and one assist from 44 league games, and a lot of those have been starts.

“So it is really sub-par for a player who has previously produced the goods at this level.”

Yakou Meite struggles to recreate pre-injury form

After thriving during his first few seasons with Reading, Meite only made 19 starts in his last two seasons with the club, after a cruciate ligament injury ruled him out for a considerable amount of time.

After easily reaching double figures in his first three years with the Royals, six goals since the start of the 2021/22 season proves just how much the forward’s game has dropped off in recent times, with Cardiff not seeing the same player that ruled the roost in Berkshire previously.

Patience has seemingly run out within the City fanbase of late, and Price has seen enough to know that the club would be a better place without him when next summer comes around.

He continued: “Obviously, he did have some serious injuries towards the end of his time at Reading, and you have got to ask if those injuries have taken a toll on him.

“Is he still capable of performing to that level? I don’t know. But he simply hasn’t been good enough for most of his time at Cardiff.”