Cardiff City's 7 most expensive signings in order from worst to best (Ranked) | OneFootball

Highlights

Cardiff City will be hoping the 2023/24 season is one full of positivity rather than negativity.

The Bluebirds have been stuck in the bottom half of the Championship for a while now, something that has resulted in numerous changes of managers and players.

Erol Bulut was brought in as the club’s new manager in the summer, and Cardiff will be hoping he can be the one who can change the club’s fortunes.

The Cardiff boss brought in several new players this summer, and they will be looking to make a name for themselves this season.

So while Bulut wasn’t able to spend money on new signings, it got us thinking at Football League World about who Cardiff City’s seven most expensive signings are and ranking them in order from worst to best.

7 Andreas Cornelius

Cardiff signed Andreas Cornelius from Copenhagen in 2013, but it was a move that never worked for all parties.

The forward only made eight appearances for the club in the season the Bluebirds were in the Premier League. He failed to start any of them, as well as score for the club.

It was agreed between Cardiff and the player that he be moved on, and in January 2014, he re-joined Copenhagen, where he is playing now.

6 Gary Madine

Gary Madine joined Cardiff in 2018, and he is the club’s seventh-most expensive signing.

He arrived from Bolton Wanderers after being a hit with the Lancashire outfit. Madine stayed with the club until 2020, but the latter half of his time at the club was spent on loan elsewhere.

In his time at the club, Madine played just 28 games for the Bluebirds, and in that time, he failed to score a single goal, grabbing only three assists.

5 Steven Caulker

Caulker was another summer arrival in the 2013/14 season, with the defender joining from Tottenham Hotspur.

The defender was only with the Bluebirds for a season, and during that time, he scored five goals in 39 games, but given that he was only at the club for a single season, it is hard to say he was a huge success.

4 Bruno Ecuele Manga

Manga’s arrival at Cardiff came in the summer after they were just relegated to the Championship.

The defender joined from FC Lorient, after spending all of his career in France. Manga stayed with Cardiff until 2019, when he moved back to France to join Dijon.

The 35-year-old played 160 games for the club in the five-year period, and along the way, he managed to add seven goals to his name. He was a relatively good buy for the club, but he didn’t really do anything to stand out.

3 Gary Medel

Gary Medel was another player who joined the Welsh side after their promotion to the Premier League but left the summer after they were relegated to the Championship.

In terms of stats, Medel didn’t really stand out, as he didn’t score goals or create chances, but he was a menace in that midfield and was adored by Cardiff fans.

When most people think of Cardiff’s time in the Premier League, they will remember Medel’s performances.

2 Bobby De Cordova-Reid

De Cordova-Reid made the move to Cardiff from arch-rivals Bristol City in 2018 after impressing with the Robins.

He came as a player who could operate in multiple positions, but it was a downside as he never really found a settled position.

The 30-year-old played just 30 games for Cardiff in two years, scoring five goals and recording four assists. He is now at Fulham, where he is a firm member of Marco Silva’s side.

1 Josh Murphy

Murphy is Cardiff’s third-most expensive signing, but out of these players, he may be considered to be the best purchase.

Murphy was on the books at Cardiff from 2018 to 2022, and in that time, he played 99 games, scoring 14 and registering 10 assists.