Cardiff City will always regret 2018 transfer call involving AFC Bournemouth and Sheffield United: View | OneFootball

Cardiff City failed in their pursuit of David Brooks back in 2018, but it could have made all the difference

Cardiff City's 2018/19 Premier League campaign was defined by minimal margins, and one must surely wonder how the pendulum could have swung had they signed David Brooks ahead of their venture into the promised land.

The Bluebirds wound up in the top-flight against all odds in the summer of 2018, having achieved arguably one of the most improbable promotions in Championship history under the stewardship of renowned second-tier wizard Neil Warnock.

They were, naturally, rather ill-equipped for the dizzying heights of Premier League football. Nobody had dared to mention Cardiff in the same breath as promotion only twelve months prior, with Warnock operating on a shoestring budget and, on paper at least, with a vastly inferior squad compared against many divisional counterparts at his disposal.

However, Cardiff were much better than the sum of their parts during that historic season, where Warnock managed to get 100 per cent - and then some - out of most of his squad, galvanising the club in the process. They deservedly gained promotion in the end, setting them up for a second date with the Premier League four years on from their first voyage in the 2013/14 season.

Cardiff were ultimately relegated, of course, but they still managed to defy the odds by forming a much more competitive odds than many expected, with critics declaring a rock-bottom finish before a ball had been kicked.

Much went against Cardiff that year; the Emiliano Sala tragedy shook the club to its core and a series of dubious officiating decisions - namely Cesar Azpilicueta's notorious, and blatantly offside goal for Chelsea being awarded - hardly helped, either.

The margins were so very fine, thinner than almost anybody had expected in the first place. Cardiff were relegated by just two points, finishing in 18th behind 17th-placed Brighton and Hove Albion. You have got to wonder, then, just what could have unfolded instead had they managed to strike a deal for Brooks.

Cardiff City tried to sign David Brooks in 2018

Cardiff's overall budget paled in comparison to the warchests yielded across the Premier League, which priced them out of deals that could have undoubtedly changed their fortunes.

However, they did spend a combined £20 million on Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Josh Murphy, who both signed for eight-figure fees. Murphy became Cardiff's costliest signing since 2014 at the time by signing in an £11 million deal from Norwich City.

Vincent Tan, who ultimately has the final say on all transfers, was not afraid to pull the transfer trigger when he was duly convinced by both the financial and footballing factors at play. The latter is believed to have cost Cardiff in their efforts to sign David Brooks.

The talented winger was off the back of an impressive breakout campaign with Sheffield United in the 2017/18 season, where he scored three goals and made a further four assists from 30 Championship appearances. His stock was high, then, and Cardiff had reportedly made a "big money move" for Brooks before the prospective deal fell through due to cost reasons, with Bournemouth agreeing on an £11.5 million outlay.

It is unclear whether Cardiff were financially incapable of meeting that figure or his wage demands, or simply did not fancy it at all,but either way, the failed deal must be looked at with a tinge of regret six years on.

Cardiff City must have serious David Brooks transfer regret

Cardiff were made to rue their inability to get the deal done almost instantly. Brooks was electric on his debut for Bournemouth, which was, coincidentally, a 2-0 victory over Cardiff at home.

As Cardiff struggled in the Premier League that year, the Wales international emerged as one of the division's hottest properties by scoring seven goals and setting up five, performances which saw him linked to likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur amid suggestions of a blockbuster £50 million deal.

Brooks was pulling up trees while Cardiff were struggling to get off the ground. The aforementioned Murphy burned brightly during the opening stages of the season but his first year was underlined by real inconsistency, which became the theme of his time at Cardiff, and he only finished with three league goals.

It is a damning indictment of Cardiff's miseries infront of goal in 2018/19, though, that only two players scored more than four times. Meanwhile, Victor Camarasa recorded the highest tally of goal involvements with nine - five goals and four assists.

Had Brooks signed for Cardiff, he would have offered much-needed creativity, match-winning moments and genuine X-Factor in possession.

Warnock's side unfortunately fell short in all of those departments, and while Brooks may not have neccesarily enjoyed quite the season he did at Bournemouth if he moved to Cardiff for a relegation dogfight, their odds of beating it would have been far, far greater.

Just as Cardiff are yet to come close to returning to the Premier League, that season was about as good as it has been for Brooks. He has, of course, had to deal with significant injury setbacks alongside receiving a diagnosis for Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma in October 2021, which he admirably overcame to complete a full recovery.

Although Brooks has never quite reached his own staggering heights since, he is carving out a respectable career which there could still be more to come from at the age of 27. With 30 caps and counting for the Welsh national side, for whom he debuted in 2017, Brooks helped Southampton to promotion while on loan from Bournemouth last season.

The talented playmaker is struggling for game time at the minute and, for what it's worth, Cardiff could be extremely well-served by plotting a second attempt to bring him to Wales in January. Even then, though, they will always wonder how differently it could have played out if they had done so in 2018.