Seen figures of £1.7-£2m floated, and to be honest even the lower end of that seemed quite steep considering the waters we're swimming in at the moment. Maybe a loan for Kieffer Moore is more likely?
https://twitter.com/mcgrathmike/status/1690996187434725377 Birmingham City have agreed a fee for Sory Kaba at Midtjylland according to sources in Denmark. #WatfordFC were leading race for Guinea forward whose goals helped keep Cardiff up last season. #BCFC entered race which included several Championship clubs @TeleFootball
To be honest, I'm not too fussed. I didn't think he was that great, and I would have been disappointed had this been the guy we signed as our main striker.
Let's see who we do sign before we are too smug about it . If we don't sign anyone, we may regret this.
Hopefully he wasn't our first choice (I don't think he was, as a deal would have been done by now). Must mean we are reasonably confident we will land another target.
May of course been offered better terms by Bham or Bham agreed a higher fee. We won't know until we see who we actually sign.
The club did their best, put in the hard work on the deal, but unfortunately it was another one of those unforeseeable situations where the selling club want us to give them money for the player. Frustrating that that keeps happening but we’ll get someone in eventually.
It's not a case of being smug. I just don't think Kaba is all that. Had he been the guy I'd have been disappointed. If we sign no one I'd be disappointed and if we end up loaning Isaac Success (which I think will probably be the case) I'd end up being disappointed. It is all about what is the ambition of the club this season. If it really is play offs, then we have no option but to sign a player who will score goals at Championship level. We have no choice. This is what we have to do. Fail to do that, then we will not score enough goals. In the Championship, you're either above the average line or below it. It's fine margins. Do I think in my heart of hearts we'll get relegated? I think probably not, but there is a risk of it because of the issues we potentially have.
I imagine it’s a combination of being outbid by Birmingham and wanting to keep our options open in case a cheaper loan becomes available nearer the end of the window.
I'm not sure we need a big lump of a striker for hold-up. What we need is someone that can finish off crosses and can last 90 mins.
Feels like we could look back at this and be grateful if we have an another priority target in mind that we end up signing, likely for buttons on the cheap. If not, we will end up being reliant on luck of the draw with loans and the rest left at the end of the window. Not to sign a No 9 could make this a very long season.
Not being glib about it, but I always had a suspicion we wouldn't be able to pay the fee. Still think I'd prefer Moore on loan, even if he's older, and even if it means we're back to square one next season
I agree, but all the Xs/Tweets this morning suggest Bournemouth will only sell, not loan Moore and that’s only if they bring a replacement in. Local ITKs are saying they doubt he’ll leave this window Hopefully our ITKs trump theirs
Can't say I've watched much of Moore but always thought of him as a big lump that can play a bit. Would he be able to do the pressing/running the channels that seems to be a feature of Ismael's plan?
Would have to say Moore's chart (I'm sure @reids has put it on here somewhere), but either way, Bayo wasn't exactly renowned for pressing before last season, so if Moore isn't renowned for pressing, maybe we could mould him into one?
Red is 21/22 with Cardiff, blue is last season in the PL with Bournemouth. Pressing stats better last season which shows some promise but pretty much non existent at Cardiff. But as you said, this can change dramatically from player to player from season to season - Bayo didn't press at all with us last season and had worse pressing stats than Moore at Bournemouth, but then turned into a pressing machine on loan (and is top 4% in his position for winning the ball from presses so far this season)
Isn't that the case for Cardiff not us? I have some serious doubts Kaba is our first choice target anyway. Agreed personal terms weeks ago yet not advanced that at any point in last couple weeks, looking at other options and stressing patience. We're either completely broke or someone else became available that we think we can get.
Who do you think would be a better fit for the squad we currently have and VI's tactics ? It seems Moore does little other than win heading duels ?
I do like Moore and think if he can press he'd be a good fit, his stats look underwhelming on the surface (especially in the PL) but worth noting that Cardiff team was v poor and he was still getting a good amount of good shots away (and had the finishing ability to match). I don't think he's good enough for the PL but for the Championship he'll likely be an upgrade over anything else we have (or can get). There's a couple of players in the EFL that match the statistical profile we're likely to be after like Josh Coburn (20 year old at Boro who did really well on loan at Bristol Rovers last season - probably unlikely but a quick twitter search seems to think that they're open to a loan with Plymouth interested) or Sam Nombe (24 years old at Exeter City) but both probably unlikely I'd imagine.
You're probably right, I can't find where I read that now so I probably read it wrong! Tbh if we have £2m to spend, i'm not sure I want to sign a 28 year old who doesn't want to be here.
