Cardiff City will be relieved Omer Riza avoided Erol Bulut summer blunder with Ajax, Leicester City deals | OneFootball

Cardiff City chose to lean on the loan market in the January transfer market

Cardiff City's summer transfer spree was ultimately a cause of considerable disappointment as the Bluebirds fell short of addressing areas of need, but Omer Riza has strived to make amends in his first window in charge after succeeding Erol Bulut back in September.

Having finished the previous campaign in 12th position, Cardiff were - at face value, at least - fairly ambitious under Bulut as a number of big names were brought to the Welsh capital in former Aston Villa duo Calum Chambers and Anwar El Ghazi along with Chris Willock following his departure from Championship rivals QPR.

Their arrivals were supplemented by those of a number of younger recruits, in moves which have each yielded rather varying degrees of success. Alex Robertson, of course, has proved a sensational pickup, and Jesper Daland remains very much in an acclimation process but has featured regularly, though Roko Simic and Will Fish have both struggled to get a look-in.

The less said about Wilfried Kanga, meanwhile, the better.

Fundamentally, Cardiff failed to add both goals and pace to their squad, a mishap which has cost them dearly. One could quite reasonably argue Bulut would not have been sacked - or, at least, would have lasted some time longer - had he elected to use the Premier League loan market and done so effectively as opposed to using just one of five available matchday loan slots on Kanga.

Cardiff City leaned in on the loan market under Omer Riza in January

Riza ended up getting two temporary deals over the line, both of which should bode well for Cardiff in the context of what's needed in the boss' side. The first deal was a left-field one struck for Ajax midfielder Sivert Mannsverk, whom Riza used his connections to secure, with the Norweigan joining on loan until the end of the season.

A largely-unknown quantity on English shores, Mannsverk comes with a glowing reputation and a footballing curriculum at one of world football's most vaunted institutions. The 23-year-old, who is a deep-lying midfielder by trade, should offer a sound partner to the aforementioned Chambers in the middle of the park.

Cardiff then tapped into the top-flight loan aisle by landing Leicester City's highly-rated teenage winger Will Alves for the remainder of the campaign. There is a great deal of excitement surrounding Alves, who signed a new four-year contract with the Foxes only last summer and made his Premier League debut against Manchester City a month before joining the Bluebirds.

Alves only has a small handful of senior appearances under his belt but fits the stylistic bill of what Cardiff need either out wide or in attacking midfield.

The 19-year-old is known for his electric pace and close control, which means he could be a potential game-changer for a side that has so sorely lacked initiative and dynamism in attack for large spells of the season.

Riza deserves yet more credit for brokering a deal for Alves, whom he had worked with for three years in the England youth set-up. Those sort of connections, one would imagine, should benefit Cardiff moving forward.

Erol Bulut did not utilise the loan market last summer with Cardiff City

In contrast to Bulut, who, in fairness, did loan in Josh Bowler, Jonathan Panzo, Runar Alex Runarsson, Josh Wilson-Esbrand and Nat Phillips last season - although just the latter proved to be any sort of resounding success at City - Riza saw real upside to the 24/25 loan market.

Mannsverk and Alves appear to be shrewd pick-ups, while at least one or two of those already had question marks.

Perhaps Bulut was deterred from the loan market after such mixed success last term, but with that, he too has to shoulder some responsibility.

Either way, Cardiff should have added another striker along with Simic in the closing stages of the summer window as it became quickly apparent that Kanga, who ended up seeing his loan deal terminated after failing to score from 16 appearances, simply was not up to leading the line at Championship level.

Signing another winger was a real call of duty last month too, and given just how many were available back in the summer, Cardiff really should have there and then. Loans can bring varying degrees of success, but Cardiff will be glad Riza is keen to explore the avenues which Bulut chose against.