Cardiff City need to emulate Sabri Lamouchi masterstroke that prevented relegation | OneFootball

Cardiff City may need to repeat Sabri Lamouchi's signing of Sory Kaba to prevent relegation to League One this season

Cardiff City find themselves entrenched in danger of relegation to League One this season and the January transfer window is going to be crucial if that threat is to be alleviated, so they must try and emulate Sabri Lamouchi's impactful mid-season signing of Sory Kaba which had the same effect in the 2022/23 term.

Despite securing a respectable 12th-placed finish under Erol Bulut last season and subsequently making a clutch of high-profile signings in the summer transfer window, Cardiff have gone full circle and are now staring down the barrel of relegation from the Championship once again.

It's been a bitterly disappointing campaign for the Bluebirds, who had appeared to have progressed beyond the two consecutive relegation battles they fought their way out of between 2021 and 2023. But staving off the eerie and growing threat of a first return to the third tier of English football in more than 20 years now remains the call of duty for Omer Riza and Vincent Tan in the remainder of this term, and the club simply must get it right in the January window.

Cardiff haven't always nailed it in the market, which is partially why they are where they are right now. However, Lamouchi pulled a rabbit out of the hat with the January 2023 signing of Kaba, who provided an instant and crucial impact in his half-season stay with the Bluebirds - and it's hard to argue that Cardiff need to repeat that sort of business once again in the new year.

Sabri Lamouchi's Sory Kaba signing was an inspired one for Cardiff City

The decision to loan in Kaba on deadline day was a left-field one from Lamouchi which carried no shortage of risk, with the Guinean international representing a rather unknown quantity with zero experience in English football.

Kaba's struggle for game time with Danish side FC Midjtylland had meant his arrival was met with caution and skepticism from supporters, although such feelings were swiftly allayed as it didn't take him long to find his feet in South Wales. He got off the mark in just his second game for the club by scoring in a 3-1 home defeat to Middlesbrough in February, but it was a blistering run of form between March and April which he's best remembered for and rightly so, as those goals ultimately kept Cardiff in the division.

Kaba found the back of the net in Cardiff's 2-0 Severnside Derby victory over Bristol City at the start of March and went on to score six goals in his next eight games, one of which came on another Derby Day as the Bluebirds fell to a crushing 3-2 defeat at home to Swansea City.

He didn't score in any of his final three appearances against Rotherham United, Huddersfield Town and Burnley, but after the match against the Millers, Cardiff had virtually sealed their Championship status and his work was effectively done.

Although Kaba wasn't easy on the eye and had notable technical deficiencies, such as offering precious little in build-up and struggling to bring others into the game, he possessed a great goalscoring instinct with City and ultimately knew where the back of the net was, and they really couldn't have asked for much more given where they were at that time.

Cardiff City, Omer Riza and Vincent Tan must repeat Sabri Lamouchi's Sory Kaba deal in January

Kaba joined Cardiff when they were in a precarious position and looked destined for League One, though his goals helped to steer them away from the drop - as did a six-point deduction enforced upon relegation rivals Reading, it must be said.

Many supporters would say they're in an even worse position now, despite the playing squad being arguably stronger. Kaba's impact was instant and forceful, and Cardiff need that sort of influence from whoever arrives in January.

It's obvious they're going to be in the market for a striker considering just how poorly Hertha Berlin loanee Wilfried Kanga has fared alongside injury concerns over the likes of top scorer Callum Robinson and both Isaak Davies and Kion Etete.

They're awfully short-staffed up top at present and their goalscoring woes have followed them into the current campaign, so the need for a goal-getting striker can't be overlooked, and it's of upmost importance that they manage to strike a deal for one capable of hitting the ground running and scoring the goals to keep them afloat. Just like Kaba.