Cardiff City will have looked at Leeds United with envy after 8-figure Fulham transfer agreement was struck | OneFootball

Cardiff will have been so frustrated to see Leeds be the club to make a major profit on a Ross McCormack sale.

Back in 2010, Cardiff City were reeling from their failure to reach the Premier League via the play-offs.

The Bluebirds finished fourth during the 2009/10 season under Dave Jones, losing to Blackpool in the final at Wembley 3-2.

As Cardiff began to rebalance the squad in order to have another crack at promotion, they waved goodbye to forward Ross McCormack, who had undergone quite an underwhelming term in front of goal by his standards during his final season in South Wales.

The Glaswegian originally arrived from Dundee United in the summer of 2008 and hit the ground running in spectacular fashion.

The frontman went on to net 21 times in the 2008-09 season from 38 appearances, most notably scoring 11 of those strikes in his opening 15 second-tier outings.

McCormack did miss eight games of that season due to injury, but continued to consistently find the back of the net, scoring braces in back-to-back games towards the end of the campaign against Crystal Palace and Burnley, although the Bluebirds finished narrowly outside the top six.

However, in the 2009-10 term, McCormack would have a dismal goalscoring return, netting just four times from 34 games. An influx of goals from the Scotsman could have been the difference maker to Cardiff securing a place back in the Premier League.

After an opening season of promise, McCormack’s disappointing second season saw his value diminish, and with the frontman unable to add anything substantial to the Cardiff attack from his first two games in 2010-11, he was sold to Leeds United, with the Whites paying a reported fee of £300,000 for his services.

Looking back, Cardiff will be extremely disappointed at how this deal turned out, with McCormack able to get back on the goalscoring trail in Yorkshire and eventually making a big-money move to Fulham, which led to Leeds making a massive profit on their small investment.

Ross McCormack’s spell at Leeds United

Despite Leeds United getting the successful end of the deal, Ross McCormack’s first season at Elland Road didn’t go according to plan.

With Luciano Becchio the man trusted up front in that moment in time, McCormack was reduced to a number of bit-part appearances while he still got to grips with his new surroundings, but that lack of game time resulted in him failing to make an impact.

In fact, it took until the final two matches of the season for him to finally get off the mark in a white shirt, with goals against Burnley and Queens Park Rangers being his only strikes of the campaign.

However, his second season at the club would see him get much more regular minutes, with the frontman turning into a prolific and reliable option when leading the line.

McCormack started the next season on fire, as he netted ten times in his first 13 matches of the season in all competitions.

Vital strikes against Crystal Palace, Brighton and Hove Albion and Bristol City saw him win the fans over in Yorkshire, and before long he was a much-loved figure at Elland Road for his clinical nature in front of goal.

In total, the Scot finished with 18 strikes in his second season at the club, with the Leeds faithful excited over what he could produce in his third term.

However, similarly to his time at Cardiff, McCormack suffered inconsistencies and only netted five times from 32 games between 2012-13, although he did pick up 13 assists.

But the 2013-14 term would really see the Glasgow-born forward thrive. McCormack scored a whopping 28 Championship goals, including an incredible four-goal haul against Charlton Athletic as he featured in every one of their 46 games.

Such a sensational return led to Fulham swooping in for the now 38-year-old, who had just been relegated from the Premier League.

The Cottagers paid a reported fee £11 million as they chased an instant return to the big time, with Leeds receiving such a significant profit on the small investment they made to Cardiff four seasons ago.

Cardiff City will look at Leeds United with envy from Ross McCormack sale

Despite adding on a 15% sell-on clause when they sold Ross McCormack to Leeds United, Cardiff City would still have been very jealous that the Whites made such a significant sum of money from his sale.

McCormack had made a promising start during his time in Wales too, but a poor second season drove down his price, with many believing he was a one-season wonder at Championship level.

Even Leeds wouldn’t have expected too much from him for the fee they paid, but the Whites’ gamble paid off, leading them to make such a profit and having a second-tier marksman on their books.

McCormack’s underwhelming second season at Cardiff was to blame for the club selling him for only £300,000. If the Scotsman could have replicated his debut campaign, then the club could have received a similar fee to what Leeds did.

That kind of money could have been imperative to Cardiff possessing a much stronger squad than what they did back in 2010, and even though they achieved promotion eventually in 2013, they could have secured a top-flight place much sooner and established themselves as a Premier League club.

A big-money sale of McCormack could have transformed Cardiff’s fortunes as a football club, and we’ll never know what the impact could have been had he maintained his shooting boots for the entirety of his stay with the Bluebirds.