Cardiff City "shock’" outlined as ex-Bluebirds attacker closes in on Valencia transfer switch | OneFootball

FLW’s Cardiff City fan pundit has spoken about Anwar El Ghazi’s impending Cardiff City departure to Valencia.

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 will be aiming to build on a positive start to their 2025-26 League One campaign.

After preparing to play third-tier football for the first time in 22 years, the Bluebirds have accumulated one victory and a draw from their opening two league games against Peterborough United and Port Vale respectively.

The Welsh outfit haven’t been too busy in the summer transfer window though, signing just one senior first-team player as the club struggles financially from their previous relegation.

However, Brian Barry-Murphy will be hopeful that he can be the man to relieve the pressures the club currently faces by bringing about promotion back to the second-tier at the first attempt.

In other transfer news, ex-Cardiff winger Anwar El Ghazi appears to have found his next club following his release from the Cardiff City Stadium, with De Telegraaf reporting that the 30-year-old is set for a shock move to Valencia in Spain.

With this news in mind, FLW’s Cardiff City fan pundit has commented about that proposed switch.

Anwar El Ghazi, Valencia FC agreement labeled as a ‘shock’

Speaking to Football League World, Cardiff City fan pundit Matt Hall admitted that he was in ‘shock’ over Anwar El Ghazi’s proposed move to Valencia, believing he doesn’t have the ability to be a success in La Liga under Carlos Corberan following an underwhelming stay in South Wales.

Matt said: “I’m still in a bit of shock now, to be honest, hearing that news.

“Obviously you don’t want to get into dangerous territory and there’s a lot of surprises. He is a high-profile name, El Ghazi, so it carries a lot of weight in that.

“I think it could be a gamble. The club is obviously thinking ‘he’s got fit with us and there’s a player in there that could be really good’.

“I don’t personally see it, but Carlos Corberan is a brilliant manager, so if he sees something then you have to support it. Valencia haven’t actually been very well run, so it shouldn’t surprise me too much.

“There is also the aspect of Palestine. He is very pro-Palestine, that is something, PR wise, looks very good.

"I know that Cardiff benefited from that quite a lot as we were the first club to take him up. He was very grateful of that, and obviously it’s a very good outlook for a football club to be taking him on.

“But football ability-wise, I don’t think he’s at that level, if anything, anywhere near it.”

Ex-Cardiff City winger Anwar El Ghazi is a player on the decline amid potential Valencia move

Ever since reaching double figures for goals in the Premier League with Aston Villa in the 2020-21 season, Anwar El Ghazi has really struggled for consistent form.

A one-year spell at Everton which resulted in just two appearances led to a short stint in the Eredivisie with PSV, where Al Ghazi managed eight goals from 23 games before moving on to German side Mainz 05.

The winger's time with Mainz proved a disaster, though. He made just three appearances before seeing his contract terminated after making a series of social media posts relating to the Israel-Gaza conflict, later winning a wrongful dismissal court case with the Bundesliga outfit ahead of his move to Cardiff last season.

The Dutchman only scored three goals in the 27 appearances he made for the club, so it’s a real surprise to see him joining such a massive Spanish club when his goalscoring rate is so poor.

El Ghazi flattered to deceive in the Welsh capital and did not offer much to help Cardiff away from relegation trouble, so it's little wonder why supporters are shocked at where his next destination appears to be.

It seems as though his departure all those years ago from Aston Villa has had a major impact on his career, and there are no signs that Valencia will be the place to change his fortunes, even under a superb manager like Carlos Corberan.