Craig Bellamy features: 3 August transfers Cardiff City will want to emulate before Deadline Day | OneFootball

Cardiff City may have one eye on their previous August dealings heading into the dying embers of the current window

Highlights

The 2024 summer transfer window has been one of great intent and excitement from a Cardiff City perspective, with Erol Bulut recruiting a batch of ambitious arrivals to help propel the Bluebirds up the league table for his second season in charge.

Former Aston Villa duo Anwar El Ghazi and Calum Chambers both represent outstanding pedigree at Championship level, Chris Willock has proved among the most exciting wingers in the division when, at the peak of his powers, Wilfried Kanga has arrived off the back of a fruitful goalscoring spell in Belgium with Standard Liege and technical midfielder Alex Robertson could prove to be the pick of the bunch following his permanent transfer from Manchester City.

Cardiff will not be expected to rest on their laurels, though, with numerous acquisitions still required if they are to sustain a push towards the top-six positions this season. Further signings are expected before deadline day passes at the end of the month, so Football League World has decided to summarise three previous August acquisitions which Cardiff will be looking to replicate.

Craig Bellamy

Granted, Cardiff are hardly going to sign a player of the existing pedigree that Bellamy had when he sealed a loan move from Man City to strut his stuff for his boyhood club back in 2010. At the time, Bellamy - then 30 - had spent the last decade playing top-flight football and returned to the Welsh capital after scoring 10 times in the Premier League for City the season prior.

The signing was a statement of intent and Bellamy unsurprisingly proved a real hit in the Championship that year, where he scored 11 times, made a further 14 assists, scored *that* winner to inspire a 1-0 South Wales Derby victory on Swansea City's own patch and fired Cardiff to the play-offs. He's still remembered as one of the best signings in Cardiff's recent history and fared well once again after returning from Liverpool a few years on, too.

The relevance of Bellamy here is because Cardiff still sorely need additional wide options, particularly ones who are direct, confident enough to take on opposing full-backs and can match that dynamism with end product. Bellamy, of course, had all of that in rich abundance.

Interestingly, Cardiff have only made one loan signing this summer, meaning those prized matchday spots are still aplenty. Strong links seemingly refuse to go away towards Leicester City's Kasey McAteer and he represents a viable option, although stern competition is resembled in the form of Hull City.

Whether the Bluebirds can beat off Hull for his signature remains to be seen. If McAteer is not to be, though, then Cardiff must still scour the Premier League market for loanee wingers who can come in and make a significant impact.

Ross McCormack

Owing to the period of adaptation to a new style of play and fresh service from teammates strikers in particular often tend to take a while to find their feet after signing for a club.

Cardiff know that all too well. Indeed, they are also familiar with strikers simply never finding their feet - both of which present a huge contrast to the way Ross McCormack announced himself in South Wales following his arrival from Motherwell in August 2008.

Three goals in as many matches within his first month at the club pretty much set the tone from there on, as McCormack went on to light up the Championship that year by registering no less than 21 strikes. The Scotsman did tail off rather considerably in his second season with Cardiff, but his debut campaign still lives long in the memory of supporters, who will be pining for Cardiff to recruit a striker in the remainder of August that can have such an electrifying, goal-laden immediate impact.

The jury very much remains on whether that can come from Hertha Berlin loanee Kanga, while Cardiff will doubtlessly be in the market for another striker after losing both Kion Etete and Isaak Davies to long-term injuries.

19-year-old hotshot Michael Reindorf appears to be a wonderful talent, having already been extremely prolific for Cardiff's under-21 side before coming off the bench to, quite simply, take liberties against Bristol Rovers in their recent 2-0 EFL Cup victory, and they need to keep his development in mind.

Fans will want to see him remain in the first-team picture from here on in and it's just as difficult to challenge that sentiment as it is on Cardiff desperately needing another striker, especially one who can get in behind and provide intensity out of possession like McCormack did.

Joe Bennett

It may be a somewhat anti-climatic selection in comparison to the maverick brilliance of both Bellamy and McCormack, but the reality is Cardiff need to acquire a left-back capable of coming in and locking that position down.

Bennett did exactly that after arriving from Aston Villa in the summer of 2016 and was a mainstay in the Cardiff side that achieved promotion to the Premier League against all odds under Neil Warnock in the 2017/18 campaign.

Steady, reliable and composed while also giving Cardiff an extra dynamic at times with his overlapping runs - particularly in the earlier stages of his Bluebirds career - Bennett was one of the first names on the team sheet for five seasons and they have missed that dependability at left-back ever since.

Jamilu Collins has been the first-choice when fit, but he too is set to miss a couple of months of action, and Cardiff do not currently have a senior recognised left-back.

Callum O'Dowda, a winger by trade, can play there and was quite possibly Cardiff's best player during their opening day 2-0 defeat at home to Sunderland, but it's no secret that his dynamic qualities are better served higher up the pitch. Behind O'Dowda is academy product Luey Giles, who has shown real promise in his fleeting forays at first-team level but only recently celebrated his 18th birthday and needs to be managed accordingly.

Another left-back most certainly would not go amiss, then, even if Bennett is far from the most glamorous or exciting example to emulate.