Cardiff City and Neil Warnock just could not turn down West Brom's attractive £8m advances | OneFootball

Cardiff City could not believe their luck when they collected £8 million for Kenneth Zohore in the summer of 2019

Cardiff City simply could not say no when West Bromwich Albion came calling for Kenneth Zohore in the summer of 2019, and their decision has since been vindicated beyond belief.

The Bluebirds were fresh off the back of an unsuccessful voyage into the Premier League, which unsurprisingly resulted in relegation with fortune seldom on their side, although they had courageously weathered the storm after being written off by the masses before a ball had even been kicked.

Cardiff were more competitive than anybody had realistically expected them to be, finishing just two points shy of 17th-placed Brighton and Hove Albion. As such, then, expectation was high within the Welsh capital for an immediate return to the promised land, but Cardiff are yet to realise those ambitions five years on from their relegation.

Myriad critical mistakes have been made in recent years, and few would now reflect upon the 2019 summer transfer window with positivity. Instead, it was symbolic with missed opportunity, where some fair sums were shelled out and the likes of Robert Glatzel, Aden Flint, Gavin Whyte and Isaac Vassell all flattered to deceive for various reasons.

Cardiff did, however, nail one transfer decision in particular - and that was the call to part ways with Zohore after receiving a staggering £8 million offer from their Championship rivals.

Kenneth Zohore's Cardiff City career

City just could not say no to an £8 million influx in trade for Zohore in 2019, but they were prepared to collect double that figure only two years after he had enjoyed a stunning breakthrough in the 2016/17 campaign.

The Danish frontman found himself largely on the periphery after joining from sister club KV Kortrijk in January 2016, initially on loan. However, following the arrival of Warnock that October, Zohore exploded into life and was like lightning in a bottle for the second half of 16/17, scoring twelve goals and notching a further five assists in just 29 Championship appearances.

Ferociously talented with intelligent link-up play, explosive speed, quick feet, expert ball-striking ability and the upper-body strength to contend with the physical trials and tribulations of second-tier football, Zohore's skill-set formed the full package and he was, by and large, simply unstoppable that year.

Cardiff were well within their right to demand £15-20mfor his services the following summer, pricing suitors out of a swoop for their prized asset. Zohore, then 23, was reportedly subjected to a bid from Hull City, which was promptly rejected.

Supporters naturally feared that Zohore would be sold for a significant fee that summer, but Warnock insisted that he was not for sale under - almost - any circumstances.

In July 2017, Warnock was asked if Zohore could leave in the event of an increased offer, and his response was rather telling. He told the press: "Not unless I have a heart attack and another manager takes over.

"He realises I've resurrected his career and needs another 12 months with me and knock some goals in and then the world's his oyster."

It never quite clicked for Zohore after his stunning 16/17 emergence, though.

The striker still played an important role in their shock promotion to the Premier League in the 2017/18 season by scoring nine goals and setting up five, but he did not exactly rip the Championship apart as many had expected and struggled with bouts of inconsistency throughout the season.

His application left much to be desired. That was no secret.

Indeed, it was a source of real frustration for Warnock in the top-flight, with the Yorkshireman handing him just seven starts across the entire season. Injuries played a part, of course, but Zohore failed to unlock his top-class natural ability when fit, barring that goal away at Southampton.

There were still signs of real promise scattered along the way and Cardiff fans who had hoped to see Zohore reignite his extinguishing spark back in the Championship saw their dreams dashed when the club agreed to sell him to the Baggies, although there were hardly any complaints about the price tag - even less so now.

West Brom's £8m Kenneth Zohore transfer was a disaster, but great for Cardiff City

While perhaps not quite 'damaged goods' at that stage, Zohore was nonetheless on his way down and had seldom exhibited his peak form in nearly two years.

Returning close to eight figures for his services, then, felt incredibly shrewd business for Cardiff there and then, and it is difficult to emphasise enough just how well they did to get such a fee for him five years on.

The former Copenhagen and Fiorentina prospect found the back of the net in the Championship on just three occasions, as the Baggies returned to the Premier League largely without his help. In a move indicative of his fallen stock, Zohore promptly headed out on loan to Millwall but fared even worse at The Den, returning no more than two league goals in the 2020/21 season.

His second and final strike for Millwall came against Sheffield Wednesday on February 6, and, remarkably, he has not scored a single competitive goal since. He spent a year and a half in the wilderness at West Brom, making just three appearances before seeing his contract terminated by mutual consent in January 2023.

Brief, goalless stints with former club Odense in Denmark and Slask Wroclaw of the Polish top-flight followed and Zohore has been a free agent for nearly a year now, and there is not much to suggest that he will find a new club anytime soon.