Cardiff City working on ambitious transfer swoop for 25-year-old attacker | OneFootball

Cardiff City are interested in signing Chidera Ejuke as they look to back new boss Erol Bulut in the transfer market this summer.

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According to WalesOnline reporter Glen Williams, the Bluebirds are believed to be "working hard" on a deal for CSKA Moscow winger Ejuke on a one-year temporary contract.

Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIFA have provided leeway to players in the country, many of whom have either suspended or terminated their contracts.

And Cardiff are hoping that Ejuke, who suspended his own deal at current club CSKA Moscow to join Hertha Berlin last summer, can be acquired by these means given the present state of play on the transfer front.

The Welsh side are still currently under transfer embargo following the lengthy court case with French side Nantes regarding payment for Emiliano Sala, and while they have managed to overturn an initial three-window ban into one that will be lifted come January, as things stand, they are still unable to administer fees for any prospective signings.

Who is Cardiff City target Chidera Ejuke?

After a trial at Liverpool failed to come to fruition, Ejuke initiated his career with Gombe United in his native Nigeria before earning a move to Norweigan outfit Valerenga in March 2017, where he scored 14 times from 65 outings to attract suitors elsewhere.

Heerenveen came calling two years later and Ejuke lit up the Eredivisie in his sole season with the club by finding the back of the net on nine occasions while laying on a further four, subsequently emerging as one of the division's hottest properties.

That form earned a switch to CSKA Moscow, and he has conjured up inspired displays in the Russian capital, too, notching home 10 goals and eight assists from just over 60 appearances while gaining plenty of plaudits for other elements of his game.

Ejuke's spell with Hertha Berlin did not go to plan as they succumbed to relegation following a rock-bottom finish in the Bundesliga, and the Nigerian International faced his own difficulties for both form and fitness, though he still managed to weigh in with three assists amid merely nine starts.

Would Chidera Ejuke be a good signing for Cardiff City?

As far as statements of intent go, Ejuke would represent serious business for Cardiff and would no doubt send out a loud message about their ambitions for next season.

They have been left with a gaping hole of invention, trickery and 1v1 ability following Jaden Philogene's return to Aston Villa after a mesmerizing loan spell in Wales, and though fans had felt that it would be some time before the dazzling winger would be adequately replaced, Ejuke appears more than capable of filling that void.

This is enforced by FBRef, who inform that, in comparison to positional compatriots over the last year within Europe's top five leagues, Ejuke ranks above 99% for both attempted and successful take-ons, with 9.81 and 4.75 respectively across a per 90 minutes time frame.

For context, the attacker attempted over four more take-ons and completed over two more than Philogene- and he was a player that appeared to be taking on his man every other second, particularly during the second half of the season.

Given that Ejuke's numerics are accounted against players, some of world-class pedigree, no less- in the sport's highest quality divisions, Cardiff are quite clearly displaying a real sense of ambition in the transfer market that should see them with a much-enhanced competitive edge next time around if all goes to plan.