Cardiff City should capitalise on Oxford United disappointment to seal Crystal Palace agreement | OneFootball

Malcolm Ebiowei is poised to be recalled from Oxford United, and Cardiff City should look no further than the Crystal Palace prospect.

Malcolm Ebiowei is set to see his season-long loan stay with Oxford United prematurely cut short at the start of January by parent club Crystal Palace.

This is according to the South London Press - and this news could open the door for Cardiff City to try their hand at a move in a bid to strengthen their Championship survival hopes.

The Bluebirds require little reminder, you would think, of just how significant next month's winter window is going to be.

By and large, the summer recruitment undertaken by Erol Bulut simply wasn't up to scratch, which is evidenced by the gravity of Cardiff's struggles at the wrong end of the second-tier table despite finishing in 12th place last time out.

With the exception of Alex Robertson, who has been an impressively shrewd acquisition following his summer arrival from Manchester City, it's hard to argue any of the club's other incomings have made the desired impact thus far.

Defensively, despite bringing in three senior defenders in Callum Chambers, Jesper Daland and Will Fish, they've been leaky.

Ultimately, though, as tends to be the case, the lack of firepower, cutting edge and quality in this City attack are the most alarming issues, with the fundamental absences of pace and goals sorely felt after falling short of addressing such necessities in the summer.

That simply must prompt action from Cardiff, who are second from bottom in the Championship and can ill-afford to suffer relegation to League One - which is a real threat at this stage.

Supporters are naturally crying out for incomings in the final third and Cardiff should heed that concern by looking no further than Ebiowei, who made his name as an electrifying teenage prospect at Derby County three years ago but now finds himself in a state of flux, having spent the first-half of the current campaign on loan with Oxford.

Crystal Palace set to recall Malcolm Ebiowei from Oxford United

According to a recent report published by the South London Press, Palace are poised to terminate his loan deal with the Championship strugglers at the start of next month.

It's no surprise considering just how out of favour he was at the Kassam Stadium, which will come as a real surprise to those who saw him in action for the Rams during the 2021/22 season.

The winger is now set to leave Oxford having played just 64 minutes of Championship football across four matches to show for his brief and unsuccessful stay with the club, where action was more forthcoming in cup competition.

Indeed, Ebiowei's most recent appearance came as a substitute in the U's 2-1 home defeat to Swansea City at the start of November, and in spite of the side's struggles, he's failed to make a matchday squad in nearly two months.

It's going to go down as yet another frustrating loan spell for Ebiowei, who has struggled to live up to the rich potential displayed at Derby amid mixed stays with Hull City, RWD Molenbeek of Belgium, and most recently, Oxford.

He's still only 21 and perhaps shouldn't be discounted quite just yet. With that in mind, Cardiff should be considering handing him something of a lifeline in a deal which could well prove mutually beneficial.

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Cardiff City should sign Crystal Palace's Malcolm Ebiowei following Oxford United disappointment

Ebiowei's place on the periphery in Oxfordshire does count against the argument for a Championship club to bid to acquire his services, especially one in a similarly precarious position as the U's in the division's relegation battle.

The reason why Ebiowei struggled to gain so much as a look-in simply isn't clear, but one would suspect it's in no part related to ability - or a lack thereof.

Precociously talented, the former England youth international is blessed with searing pace and is at his best standing up opponents in one-v-one situations, where the combination of his sharp bursts of pace and quick, tricky feet helps him to leave full-backs for dead.

He has the skillset to beat opponents by elegantly drifting past them on the inside, such is his ability on the ball in tight pockets of space, but he can also dash past his opposite number in the blink of an eye, which makes him a real outlet in transition.

These qualities were abundantly on show at Derby when Ebiowei enjoyed his breakout season in senior football, thus earning the move to Palace in the summer of 2022.

For one reason or another, Hull, Molenbeek and Oxford simply didn't see his spark, but at 21 years of age, Ebiowei still has so much to give and Cardiff should be pushing to make themselves the recipients of his talents.

At present, a real sore spot for Cardiff is their wide options. Ex-Aston Villa star Anwar El Ghazi is yet to deliver on the excitement which naturally surrounded his arrival, having scored just twice from 17 outings, for example.

Yakou Meite certainly brings unique qualities to the table but his output and consistency simply isn't there, and while alternative options such as Ollie Tanner and summer signing Chris Willock have shown signs of promise too, neither have done so week-in, week-out.

Cardiff's goalscoring woes are tangible and alarming but the shortage in creativity and directness, perhaps most prominently from the flanks, arguably forms the crux of their fundamental attacking deficiencies. It's something which urgently needs to be addressed; Cardiff simply don't have a winger capable of continually beating a man and carrying the side upfield, and Ebiowei most definitely fits that bill.

For what it's worth, Ebiowei brings a rather similar profile to that of Jaden Philogene, who was a superstar for the Bluebirds in the second-half of the 2022/23 season while on loan from Aston Villa before later returning to Unai Emery's side following a successful campaign with Hull.

Ebiowei is extremely confident when going forward with the ball and has both the swagger and skill to beat opponents in any way he sees fit.

That, of course, was and still remains the defining hallmark of Philogene's game, and considering how important it is to source that kind of profile capable of directing Cardiff up the pitch and carving out chances, they could do much worse than the ex-Arsenal prospect.

City have operated with a five-at-the-back with Callum O'Dowda and Andy Rinomhota providing width either side. However, one would suspect Omer Riza - should he last the full season - isn't going to persist with that formula forever.

Acquiring more natural, comfortable and accomplished wingers would allow Cardiff to be more tactically expansive and pose a greater threat in opposition territory, and Ebiowei could prove an inspired signing on either a loan or permanent basis depending on the Eagles' stance.