Middlesbrough target should not be top Cardiff City priority: View | OneFootball

Cardiff City have had a strong start to life under manager Erol Bulut as at the moment they are one of the many sides in the hunt for the play-off places and he is already looking at the January transfer window.

Bulut was hired in the summer, after spells at Turkish clubs Gaziantep and Fenerbahçe, to replace Sabri Lambouchi.

His tenure so far has been mostly positive as he has galvanised a side that only finished five points off relegation last season.

He had a busy summer transfer window as he looked to rebuild the squad, bringing in nine new players, but it appears that he is certainly not done there, as a report from TeamTalk has suggested that Cardiff and Middlesbrough want to sign central defender Ahmed Hegazy.

Why do Middlesbrough and Cardiff want Ahmed Hegazy?

Hegazy is currently playing in Saudi Arabia for Al-Ittihad but due to their array of signings from European leagues, he has found his game time nonexistent this season, hence why he may be allowed to leave.

The 32-year-old has had a successful time at the club as overall he has played 80 games, winning the league title in the 2022/23 campaign, whilst he even managed to score 10 goals during his three years.

He also has a lot of experience in England due to his four years at West Brom, where he excelled in the Premier League and the Championship with 104 appearances altogether.

If he were to join either Middlesbrough or Cardiff, he would be an experienced leader at the back, but one side may be better off with him than the other.

Should Cardiff join the battle for Hegazy or let Middlesbrough have a free run at him?

Bulut has used a centre-back partnership of Dimitris Goutas and Mark McGuinness with both starting every league game so far this season.

Goutas joined in the summer from Turkish side Sivasspor and the 29-year-old has become a key player alongside McGuinness, who is only 22 years old.

McGuinness has been developing quickly since he was loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday last season and impressed that much that he was recalled in January.

Since then he has been one of the first names on the team sheets and his partnership with Goutas has given Cardiff a really solid base especially when they can carry on improving as a duo.

They could do with some more depth, with Jonathan Panzo the only other out-and-out central defender in the squad, but Hegazy is not going to come cheap given his wages out in Saudi Arabia so you have to consider whether he should be a priority target for the Bluebirds.

For what Bulut needs, there are surely better options out there - like a young player with high potential who could be given time to settle and develop so they can step in when ready.