Cardiff City must capitalise on Rangers transfer ultimatum amid potential Leicester City blow: View | OneFootball

The Bluebirds could well set their sights on Todd Cantwell following Hull City's development in the Kasey McAteer transfer race

Highlights

Cardiff City have placed quality over quantity thus far in the 2024 summer transfer window by acquiring Chris Willock and Calum Chambers following their respective departures from QPR and Aston Villa.

The Bluebirds have notably been in the market for additional wide options during the off-season and initiated their activity with the free transfer signing of Willock, who rejected a fresh deal with Championship rivals QPR in order to move to the Welsh capital.

Chambers, meanwhile, represents significant pedigree in the second tier after spending his entire career turning out on English football's premiere podium with the likes of Southampton, Arsenal, and Aston Villa, featuring in a variety of European competitions for the latter two.

The central defender, who can operate as a right-back or in defensive midfield and possesses excellent ball-playing qualities, is likely to serve as a direct replacement for Nat Phillips and his signing very much lays down the gauntlet regarding Cardiff's ambition to bolster the squad at Bulut's disposal while sending out a statement of intent to the rest of the division.

Understandably, though, a seasoned and prolific striker has been earmarked as the chief call of duty for Cardiff moving into the 2024/25 campaign and they're now set to land their man in the form of Hertha Berlin frontman Wilfried Kanga. Capped once by the Ivory Coast national team, Kanga will arrive on a loan deal off the back of a 12-goal campaign in the Belgian top flight while on loan with Standard Liege last term.

The impending arrival has been much welcomed by supporters and that should really come as little surprise in light of Cardiff's sore struggles in front of goal last time out despite securing a reasonable 12th-placed finish, with Bulut's men ranking lowly for xG, goals per match and chances created as they scored the least goals from open play throughout the Championship.

However, that is equally indicative of both Cardiff's dearth of prolific options in the striker stable as it is the lack of invention and creativity within it, particularly from wide areas.

Josh Bowler, who was - incredibly - brought in to replace Aston Villa's Jaden Philogene, failed to reach the heights of his prior stay in the Championship with Blackpool whereas Karlan Grant, though dogged and diligent in his positional play, rarely stood out and left plenty to be desired in the way of his own attacking output.

You could quite reasonably argue that Cardiff's 23/24 strikers, while evidently needing to be improved upon, have been scapegoated to a certain degree, as the very lack of service that they received can tend to be forgotten. Nonetheless, their desire to improve the existing wing options is hardly a source of secrecy and links to both Todd Cantwell and Kasey McAteer have emerged following Willock's arrival.

Cardiff City's

After tenuous suggestions circulated on social media last week, The Sun have now claimed that Cardiff are believed to be interested in Cantwell, who is set to depart Scottish giants Rangers in the coming weeks following a revealing admission from Phillipe Clement in the wake of their pre-season fixture away at Birmingham City.

The report adds that Cantwell has been exiled at Rangers and will not feature for the first team again, reportedly training with their under-21 side at present. The winger joined Rangers eighteen months ago in a £1.5m move from Championship outfit Norwich City, having initiated his career with the Canaries and surpassed the 100 appearance benchmark at Carrow Road.

It's also worth pointing out that Cantwell has been a part of three promotion-winning sides from the Championship in both Norwich and Bournemouth, which could and likely should have a place in Erol Bulut's thinking. Nonetheless, he's better known for his exploits in the Premier League after dazzling for Norwich in their 2019/20 Premier League crusade, which culminated in relegation but saw Cantwell poised for a significant future in the game.

The 26-year-old is yet to truly realise his potential and there are question marks pertaining to his attitude and application, if not his clear ability. That has shone through at Rangers despite a tumultuous relationship with the supporters, with Cantwell returning 14 goals and 11 assists across all competitions for the blue side of Glasgow.

Cardiff City should eye Todd Cantwell amid potential Leicester City blow

Cardiff's ongoing pursuit of Leicester City winger McAteer has seemingly hit a snag, with Championship rivals Hull reportedly "growing confident" of striking a deal, according to a recent report from Hull Live. McAteer could well depart the King Power Stadium in the coming weeks after scoring six goals in Leicester's title-winning return to the Premier League last time out and is set to see his current contract expire in less than twelve months' time.

Leicester themselves are currently believed to be pursuing an ambitious deal for Arsenal's Reiss Nelson, who played under ex-Swansea City boss Steve Cooper for England at U16 and U17 level. Nelson has impressed for the Gunners when provided with ample opportunity and McAteer would surely be forced out of the door if he was to arrive - so both Cardiff and Hull would benefit from keenly monitoring any forthcoming developments on that front.

Nonetheless, Hull's pulling power under the ownership of ambitious Turkish mogul Acun Ilicai is clear for all to see, even if a certain degree of division is developing among supporters at the MKM Stadium as of late. They've got money to spend, too, after sanctioning the sales of Jacob Greaves and ex-Cardiff star Jaden Philogene to Ipswich Town and Aston Villa respectively.

McAteer could prove a real coup for Cardiff but their chances of securing a deal feel admittedly slimmer at the moment, and the seeming amplification of Hull's advances should lead them to taking the same action with Cantwell.

A marvelously technically gifted playmaker with bags of invention, flair, and game-changing ability, Cantwell has tended to blow hot and cold throughout his career - as most wide players do, in all honesty. Latitude should and most likely will be given to Willock, who himself has similar questions to answer but, once again, possesses no shortage of talent.

The compensation for inconsistency is dependent upon the level and offering of talent in question and Cantwell's is simply outstanding in the Championship, as evidenced by three promotions and in his impressive 2020/21 campaign alongside Teemu Pukki and Emi Buendia for the Canaries.

Admittedly, then, there are certain caveats to any potential deal for Cantwell, who undoubtedly has so much more to give. If he had kicked on and truly unlocked his potential, there's absolutely no chance he'd be even remotely linked to or attainable for any club in the Championship - and perhaps a fair few in the division above, too. Barring Willock and academy graduate Rubin Colwill, Cardiff remain a team underlined by static transitions and limited progression with the ball.

Those shortcomings must also be addressed by additional impetus in the middle of the park, of course, but Cantwell offers a rare sense of X-factor and unpredictability. He's highly creative, likes to take on his man and can fashion chances from thin air. Supporters need little reminder of how sorely such traits were missed last term.