Ali Al-Hamadi signs: What Cardiff City's perfect January transfer window looks like | OneFootball

Football League World takes a potential peek into the future at what Cardiff City's perfect January 2025 window would look like

Cardiff City's summer 2024 transfer window was something of a mixed bag, with an inconsistent recruitment strategy leading to a squad which has been questionably-assembled.

The Bluebirds sought a number of high-profile, big-name signings on - what you would assume, at least - not insignificant salaries, as they welcomed the likes of Anwar El Ghazi, Callum Chambers and former QPR winger Chris Willock to the Welsh capital.

Those signings were at odds with the shrewder and savvier business to successfully strike deals for younger upcomers, such as Jesper Daland, Roko Simic, Will Fish and Alex Robertson, the latter of whom has proved a revelation at the Cardiff City Stadium thus far.

But, with Cardiff still handicapped in the division following a hellish start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign under Erol Bulut and currently all the way down in 22nd place heading into this months' international break, it would be difficult to declare the summer window as a success and they should be relishing the opportunity to go again in January.

Indeed, many supporters argued at the time that, for all of the glamour of Cardiff's window, they neglected to address their two most glaring and perennial concerns; pace and goals. Those two components, then, must surely be on the shopping list ahead of the new year - and we've decided to take a potential peek into the future by looking at what a perfect January window would resemble for the Bluebirds.

A new striker will surely be a priority for Cardiff, who are once again awfully short-staffed at the top-end of the pitch and have perhaps been made to pay the price of putting too many of their eggs in one basket back in the summer.

The need for a striker was pronounced well before the summer - indeed, Cardiff have had only one 20+ goal striker in more than ten years - so it didn't go down all that well when they finished the window with only one new frontman in the door for the current campaign.

That striker, of course, is Wilfried Kanga, who was signed on loan from Hertha Berlin but is yet to open his account in the Championship after 12 matches. The other striker they signed in the summer, Roko Simic, was immediately loaned out to sister club KV Kortrijk of the Belgian top-flight following his hotly-anticipated arrival from Red Bull Salzburg, meaning the jury is out and Cardiff have instead had to make do with their lot until January at the least.

Kion Etete and Isaak Davies, meanwhile, have both been sidelined with long-term injuries, leaving Callum Robinson with the burdensome responsibility of being his side's sole goal-getting frontman. He's scored five goals from 12 matches thus far and looks back to his best, but his injury record is an understandable concern and the options are far too thin on the ground behind him.

Someone like Ali Al-Hamadi, then, could prove an inspired piece of business. The Ipswich Town striker was reportedly of interest to Cardiff this time last year amid competition from the likes of Bristol City, Hull and Stoke.

At the time, Al-Hamadi was making his name as a real hot-shot with League Two side AFC Wimbledon, who later sold him to Portman Road in January. Despite making the leap from the fourth-tier, Al-Hamadi helped the Tractor Boys to an improbable Premier League promotion by scoring four goals - despite starting just one of his 14 matches and playing 281 minutes during the second-half of the season.

Unsurprisingly, though, regular minutes have proven even harder to come by in the Premier League. At this moment in time, the 22-year-old has racked up just 32 minutes of league action across three matches and is struggling to force his way into Kieran McKenna's one-striker system behind Liam Delap and George Hirst.

It's unlikely that the ex-Swansea City academy forward is going to push up the pecking order anytime soon, so a loan exit from Suffolk in January feels increasingly logical.

Cardiff would be able to offer the assurance of regular playing time, which Al-Hamadi needs at this stage of his career, and Ipswich will also have a long-term plan for him, and scoring regularly at Championship level is a milestone that would place him in good stead back at Town.

A quick and physical striker with a sharp eye for goal, Al-Hamadi would hand this Cardiff side an increased focal point while lessening the burden on Robinson's shoulders. He's shown himself to be a capable goalscorer at this level when given the opportunity, and the deal makes a great deal of sense for all parties.

Sam Amo-Ameyaw signs from Southampton

Back in the summer, Cardiff fell short of taking advantage of the Premier League loan market, an avenue which has yielded such short-term success for them in recent years.

The likes of Jaden Philogene, Tommy Doyle, Cody Drameh, Harry Wilson and Ryan Giles have all been major success stories in south Wales, so it was a notable surprise when Bulut opted against utilising the tried-and-tested top-flight loan aisle.

Hopefully, though, Cardiff have since learned from a potential mistake in that regard and will be ready to go again once the new year strikes. Alongside Al-Hamadi, another interesting capture on loan from the Premier League could come in the form of Southampton's Sam Amo-Ameyaw, who appears a star in the making but likely needs a loan move and sustained first-team football in order to truly showcase his worth.

He's a largely unknown quantity in the senior game but Cardiff have already seen the 18-year-old up close, as he produced a starring performance during their 3-5 defeat to the Saints in August's second-round EFL Cup tie. Quick and direct with bags of skill and end product to boot, Amo-Ameyaw looked raw but extremely exciting and scored a well-taken finish from outside the box, marking his first-ever professional goal.

His age and lack of experience does prompt potential question marks, but Amo-Ameyaw possesses the ability to answer those rather swiftly. Amo-Ameyaw's profile as a winger is precisely what Cardiff are crying out for, having failed to recruit wide players with real burning pace during the summer.

It's a real hindrance; while the likes of Willock and El Ghazi are accomplished from a technical standpoint, neither have the raw speed with the ball to drive forward at opposition defenders, and Cardiff's attack does really need an injection of pace.

They've also got four remaining loan spots to use, and an exciting young wide-man must surely be sourced in January.

Depending on who you ask, retaining Rubin Colwill in January may well be the most important business Cardiff end up doing.

The 22-year-old is finally beginning to vindicate his long-term potential on a consistent basis, emerging as the dominant creative centerpiece of this Cardiff side that many have always expected him to become. He's among a number of Bluebirds players to have seemingly been liberated by the interim appointment of Omer Riza, who has handed him a central role and increased creative freedom.

Colwill occupies something of a free role for Cardiff; though an attacking midfielder by trade, Colwill has played as a false-nine as of late but has been given the license to roam the pitch and drift into pockets of space to receive possession, with very limited defensive responsibilities.

That license ultimately suits Colwill's game down to the ground. Cardiff are getting the best out of him and he's clearly enjoying his football, which should hopefully allay fears of him leaving the club in January if clubs come knocking. But, the way Colwill is going, you would be much more surprised if he didn't attract interest.

He's on course to chalk up his best season, by far, for goals and assists, which still doesn't fully underline the impact the Welsh playmaker is orchestrating at his boyhood club. Remarkably comfortable in possession with an abundance of tricky feints at his disposal to ghost past opposition defenders, Colwill is dazzling week-in, week-out.

Make no mistake about it, he's destined for bigger things - but Cardiff will hope they can keep him until the end of the season at the very least.

Cian Ashford leaves Cardiff City on loan

Lastly, it would come as no real shock to see Cian Ashford leaving Cardiff on loan in January and that does feel the best immediate course of action for his development, which has just slowed down somewhat this season.\

The Bluebirds academy graduate enjoyed a stunning breakthrough into the first-team towards the back-end of the previous season, marking his first start with a 95th-minute winner over Southampton infront of the Canton Stand, but has understandably found it difficult to stamp down a place this season following the arrivals of El Ghazi and Willock.

Ashford is raw but talented and, at his age, must be seeking regular football. There's still bound to be a plan for his long-term future, though the 20-year-old has played the least amount of league minutes of all of Cardiff's wingers and would benefit from a loan exit for the second-half of the season.

Riza believes that Ashford should be lined up for a temporary exit, too, having recently told WalesOnline that he would intend on sending the promising forward out on loan in January if he's still in charge by then.