Football League World
·2 August 2023
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·2 August 2023
This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
Cardiff City completed the signing of Josh Bowler on loan from Nottingham Forest as they continue to strengthen Erol Bulut’s squad ahead of the new season.
The winger has shone for Blackpool at this level in the past, and his performances at Bloomfield Road saw Forest move for the player.
However, Bowler wasn’t in Steve Cooper’s plans in the Premier League, with a loan to Olympiacos sorted before the player spent the remainder of the previous campaign back at Blackpool as they were relegated.
Another temporary switch was always on the cards, and Bowler became the sixth summer signing for Cardiff on Tuesday, joining the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Yakou Meite and Karlan Grant, in what has been an impressive recruitment drive for the Bluebirds.
And, speaking to FLW, fan pundit Ben explained why the 24-year-old will bring qualities that Cardiff have been lacking.
“I think Josh Bowler will offer exactly what we need on that right-hand side. They lost Jaden Philogene, who was on loan from Aston Villa last season, and his pace, skill and flair in that front line was huge for Cardiff at times, often being the sole creator of chances.
“Whilst Cardiff have signed more goals to their front line this summer, with Yakou Meite, Karlan Grant and hopefully Ike Ugbo can push on, they have looked slightly one-dimensional so far in pre-season, lacking that bit of creativity and skill. Hopefully Bowler can come in and add that to the squad, which he has done at Blackpool in recent seasons.”
As mentioned, this has been a very busy window so far for the Welsh side, and it’s no surprise that there has been a massive focus on adding more firepower to the team.
Cardiff struggled for goals last season, and they’ve wasted little time in trying to rectify that, with several forwards brought in, and Bowler will offer another threat and creativity. Of course, Ramsey will provide much more quality as well, so the attack is now looking in good shape ahead of the new season.
In Bowler, they’ve got someone who has impressed in the Championship with Blackpool, even if the past year was tough for him. However, with his future sorted for next year, he could get his career back on track, and he has the potential to be a very good player at this level.
Plus, he will be desperate to prove himself again, and he will back himself to become a hugely important figure for Bulut’s Cardiff side over the next 12 months.
You would still expect more business to happen between now and the deadline, but Cardiff deserve plenty of credit for managing to get so many important deals done early on in the window, particularly given they’re operating on a budget.
Cardiff start their Championship campaign with a tough first fixture as they make the trip to Elland Road to take on Leeds United.