Cardiff City should capitalise on Southampton situation to turn villain into hero | OneFootball

Cardiff City still need another winger this month and should look no further than Southampton's Sam Amo-Ameyaw

Following the signing of Yousef Salech, Cardiff City remain in the hunt for further attacking additions and are accordingly targeting another winger, which should lead them to Southampton prospect Sam Amo-Ameyaw amid a potential exit for the highly-rated teen forward.

The Bluebirds got the ball rolling last week by signing Salech, who scored his first goal for the club in Cardiff's dramatic 2-2 draw at Millwall on Wednesday evening, from Swedish side Sirius for a reported £3.3 million figure. Salech, it will be hoped, can help to alleviate the immediate goalscoring burden on top scorer Callum Robinson before evolving into Cardiff's long-term talisman further down the line.

The 23-year-old is already showing signs of answering Cardiff's perennial goalscoring issues, which have plagued them under both Erol Bulut and Omer Riza this term. But following his arrival, it now appears as though the wide areas are going to be addressed ahead of the winter window's February 3 deadline, with WalesOnline reporting Riza's intention to utilise the Premier League loan market amid the club's search for added winger options.

Naturally, the signs point to a young winger arriving on loan from the top-flight, and Cardiff urgently need increased directness and creativity out wide - while an additional goal threat would hardly go amiss, either.

It would be fair to say, then, that Southampton winger Amo-Ameyaw very much fits the bill in terms of both supporter demand and, crucially, what this Cardiff side remains in rather sore need of, and his situation on the south coast should leave the door open for City to swoop.

Sam Amo-Ameyaw's Southampton FC transfer situation amid Ivan Juric revelation

Amo-Ameyaw has seemingly been made available for a loan exit this month after finding opportunities hard to come by for the Premier League strugglers in 2024/25.

Last term, the 18-year-old made seven appearances across all competitions under ex-Swansea City boss Russell Martin, who has since been replaced with Ivan Juric.

Many Cardiff supporters will remember Amo-Ameyaw getting on the scoresheet to notch his first professional goal in City's exhilarating 5-3 EFL Cup home defeat to Southampton back in August, which was one of the prospect's four competitive appearances this term.

Juric, who took over last month following Martin's dismissal, has highlighted a loan move as the "best solution" for Amo-Ameyaw amid his struggles to force his way into the Croatian's immediate first-team plans. The 49-year-old told the Daily Echo: "For the young players, playing is the best.

"They shouldn't lose time. We have youngsters like Tyler Dibling, Mateus Fernandes and Lesley Ugochukwu who are playing, which is good.

"If a young player is not playing, it's not good. I think (a loan) is the best solution for every young player who isn't playing."

Rather unsurprisingly, Amo-Ameyaw - who has been in fine form for Saints' Under-21 side as of late, subscribes to that school of thought and is keen to head out and play regular football if the club believe it to be in his best interests.

Following Juric's comments, he said after being asked whether a loan move is on the cards this month: "Whatever the club think is best for me, is best for me.

"Hopefully we can sort something out so I can get back to playing again. I love being around the first team but I want to play football, to be honest."

Cardiff City should complete a loan move for Southampton's Sam Amo-Ameyaw

Amo-Ameyaw does have rather limited experience, but his cameo appearances for the Saints have supplied enough evidence for the player he can become and also that he would be able to acclimate and flourish at Championship level.

He offered a bright spark in each of his three league appearances last time out and proved exactly what he is all about during the aforementioned cup tie at the Cardiff City Stadium, where he was a constant thorn in the Bluebirds' side, dispatched a well-taken finish and gave a now-established second-tier left-back in Joel Bagan a difficult time for most of the evening.

The former Tottenham Hotspur academy talent is blessed with real pace, which he uses well to stretch defences, get up the pitch and pin back opponents in a way Cardiff struggle to do with arguably all of their existing wing options - particularly on the left-hand side. He has quick feet and a good footballing brain too, while also possessing the natural trickery and unpredictability which has underpinned many successful second-tier wide-men of recent times.

Amo-Ameyaw is most at home on the right-hand side and, of course, Cardiff must be wary about bringing in a temporary signing to displace Cian Ashford, who has excelled over the last month or so after receiving increased opportunities and must be prioritised given he is an academy product with strong potential resale value further down the line.

Indeed, there is a strong argument to suggest the 20-year-old has now earmarked himself as Riza's first-choice right-sided candidate anyway, but Amo-Ameyaw is left-footed and can also operate on the other flank, where he would face competition from the likes of Chris Willock and Ollie Tanner.

Both Willock and Tanner can play on the right as well, and squad rotation will be integral heading into the back-end of the campaign.

Amo-Ameyaw, at his best, would offer a different dimension to City's attack and, considering his availability coupled with the existing evidence which Cardiff themselves are not unfamiliar with by default, represents an intriguing and sensible option for Riza to explore as he bids to keep his side in the Championship.