Cardiff City made £3m on academy graduate - they could do with a replica in January transfer window | OneFootball

They'll hope they can recreate the glory provided by this youth product from the beginning of the century

Few have burst onto the scene for Cardiff City quite like Robert Earnshaw did at the end of the 20th century.

The striker worked his way into the starting 11 from the Bluebirds’ youth ranks, and quickly became one of the club's most important players.

Not only did he supply goals, but he also turned those performances into a handsome profit for Cardiff a couple of seasons later, when he was sold to West Brom in order to carry on his career in the Premier League.

Earnshaw was an all-round incredible pick-up for Cardiff, and one they will wish to recreate in the modern day when the January transfer window comes around in 2025.

Robert Earnshaw didn’t take long to make a name for himself at Cardiff City

Prior to the 2000/01 season, Earnshaw had made just a handful of first-team appearances for Cardiff, and few could predict quite the impact he’d go on to have at the club.

Potential had been shown however, and after a stint on loan in Scotland with Greenock Morton in 2000, Earnshaw returned to South Wales and became a household name.

With Cardiff in the fourth tier of the English football pyramid at the time, Earnshaw was the Bluebirds' talisman, netting 19 times as a youngster to fire them back into Division Two (League One), and he followed that up at the higher level with a 12-goal haul in 2001-02.

2002-03 though was the real coming of age for Zambia-born Earnshaw, who obliterated opposition defences with 31 goals in 46 Second Division appearances, which again led to another promotion campaign.

Cardiff knew they had a player on their hands, and after he faultlessly adjusted to the challenge of second-tier football the following season with 21 goals in the 2003/04 campaign, Earnshaw had to test himself at the highest level.

Robert Earnshaw made Cardiff City significant profit in 2004

It’s never easy to let a homegrown player showing promise leave, but a substantial boost to the coffers goes some way to softening to blow.

Earnshaw certainly provided that, netting the Bluebirds £3million when he moved to Premier League side West Brom in the summer of 2004, breaking the Midlands club’s previous transfer record at the time.

It was a substantial fee at the time for a club in the second tier, and it would have been wrong for Cardiff to stand in his way of testing himself in the Premier League — so bringing in a handsome profit came as a strong consolation prize.

And, in hindsight, Cardiff sold at the most opportune moment, with Earnshaw spending the majority of his career back in the second tier, after a decent but not amazing scoring season with West Brom, and never bettering the goal tally of his final season at Cardiff.

Cardiff City could use a Robert Earnshaw clone from January 2025 and beyond

That the Bluebirds could use a figure like Earnshaw in the present day is very clear.

The Welsh outfit haven’t had a single player hit double figures for goals in the Championship since Kieffer Moore’s 20 strikes in the 2020/21 season, and he is a very different type of player to what the little magician that is Earnshaw was.

Sometimes, splitting the goals across the entire squad is no terrible thing for a team, but it clearly hasn’t worked too well for Cardiff, who have recorded 18th, 21st and 12th-place finishes in the seasons following Moore’s strong season.

Currently, the likes of Callum Robinson, Kion Etete, Wilfried Kanga and Yakou Meite will never be expected to be that 20-goal a season player that is craved at the Cardiff City Stadium, and none of that foursome are the profile that Earnshaw was either - a pint-sized, quick forward who could score all types of goals.

Having a figure like Earnshaw rise through the ranks at Cardiff, score a hatful of goals, and potentially go on to make a tidy profit would be a lifesaver for the Bluebirds - Isaak Davies is the closest they've got in terms of coming through the academy, but his injury issues are going to hold the Welshman back from really developing.

Therefore, whoever the manager is come the start of next year, the priority for Cardiff's boss must be to find a striker who can hit the back of the net and plays like Earnshaw did in his pomp - that of course though will be easier said than done.