Rubin Colwill leaves: Cardiff City's best and worst case transfer scenarios in January | OneFootball

Football League World looks at some contrasting potential transfer scenarios for Cardiff City in January

The success of Cardiff City's summer transfer window is yet to be truly determined, and they'll be hoping to have a better crack at it when January rolls around.

Despite exponential improvement under the stewardship of interim boss Omer Riza as of late, Cardiff will still be keen to add further fresh faces to a squad which has been questionably assembled, while player retention remains a crucial call of duty, and you can imagine they won't be looking to sanction too many departures.

While the January window may not be upon us for some time yet, clubs up and down the country will already be devising their transfer plans and Cardiff, you would hope, are no exception.

With that in mind, Football League World takes a potential look into the future at the Bluebirds' best and worst case transfer scenarios in the winter window.

Best: Signing another striker

Make no mistake about it, signing another striker in January is likely to be an imperative call of duty for Cardiff.

It’s a situation they failed to properly address back in the summer, but the January window presents the opportunity to go again, and they need to do exactly that.

Cardiff made the mistake of placing a lot of their eggs in just one basket. The only striker signed and summoned immediately into the first-team foray was Wilfried Kanga, who joined on loan from Hertha Berlin with a respectable continental goalscoring record but has thus far been unable to translate his prior form in the Championship.

At this moment in time, you would imagine it’s likely that Kanga will be recalled in January after failing to get off the ground for Cardiff. He’s been a huge disappointment, and the real frustration is that Cardiff didn’t sign another striker for this season, electing to immediately loan new signing Roko Simic out to KV Kortrijk following his arrival from Red Bull Salzburg.

Meanwhile, both Kion Etete and Isaak Davies were ruled out of contention with long-term injuries a week before the season started, and the duo are still recovering.

Callum Robinson has redeemed his spark in the Welsh capital and is currently leading the line with great aplomb, but the options are thin on the ground away from the ex-West Bromwich Albion frontman and Cardiff need to add increased competition and quality at the top-end of the pitch.

The aforementioned Simic has been unable to make a mark on loan with Kortrijk so far, and, as things stand, recalling him in January represents an ideal scenario for all involved.

Fans were left in shock when he instantly left on loan to the Belgian top-flight, and his start to the season is responsible for even more surprise.

The highly-rated Croatian striker is currently struggling for a starting berth and is yet to open his account, too. It’s an unfortunate state of play for a player whose development needs to be prioritised while away from the club, and if things don’t change, Cardiff must surely be looking to activate their recall option and either entrust him with a first-team opportunity or find a fresh loan destination more conducive to his progression.

Losing Rubin Colwill

In complete contrast, a nightmare scenario in January would be losing Rubin Colwill, and it’s one which supporters are beginning to fear.

The mercurial playmaker has previously been of reported interest to Ipswich Town, while Southampton boss Russell Martin is a notable fan of his. Whether either of those clubs mount January interest remains to be seen, but Colwill is sure to find himself on top-flight radar if his rich vein of form continues.

He’s been liberated under Riza, who has handed the Welsh international a refreshing sense of freedom - and a consistent run of games - to become the creative centrepiece of this resurgent Cardiff side. Colwill is duly repaying Riza’s faith, providing consistent output and leading the Cardiff attack after showing real signs of raw, captivating promise in previous seasons.

The 22-year-old has gone up to another level this time around, though, and is very much key to everything positive the Bluebirds are doing right now. A supremely talented maverick with frightening natural quality and extreme potential, retaining Colwill in January must come at all costs but you wouldn’t exactly be shocked to see the vultures come calling, either.