"Offering absolutely nothing" - Brutal Cardiff City transfer verdict given | OneFootball

FLW's Bluebirds fan pundit has not been impressed with the Ivorian striker so far

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Cardiff City striker Wilfried Kanga has not had the ideal start to life in the Welsh capital since his summer loan move from 2. Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin.

Kanga was identified by the Bluebirds' as the answer to their previous goalscoring woes after his impressive exploits on loan at Standard Liege in the Belgian Pro League last season, but has not had the desired effect as yet and has now come in for criticism from Football League World's Cardiff fan pundit as a result.

The 26-year-old began his footballing career at Paris Saint-Germain, but never made a professional appearance for the French giants and instead broke through at Angers in Ligue 1, then moved to Turkish outfit Kayserispor in 2020, and Swiss Super League side Young Boys a year later.

Kanga scored regularly in Switzerland, and his form prompted Hertha to splash out just under €5m for his services in 2022, but he did not adapt well to the Bundesliga, and is now on his second loan spell away from the German capital to date.

Cardiff fan pundit offers brutal Wilfried Kanga verdict

Kanga was Cardiff's only addition to their striking ranks in the summer, which seemed a gamble at the time, and it has been proven as much given his record in front of goal so far.

He is yet to score his first goal for the club with 12 appearances and six starts in all competitions up to now, and FLW's Bluebirds fan pundit, Jack Price, was frank in his assessment of the 27-year-old's performances so far when we asked him for a player at the club who has surprised him so far this season with their performance levels, either positively or negatively.

He said: “The one player that has surprised me with their performance levels negatively this season has been Wilfried Kanga.

“He was, admittedly, an unknown quantity. We signed him on loan from Hertha Berlin, he spent the previous season with Standard Liege, and he has sort of bounced around Turkey, Switzerland and France.

“I couldn't have professed, at the time, to knowing a great deal about Kanga, what surprises me, though, is that he was brought in as a striker to lead the line for us this season, because he was the only striker we signed in the summer to go into the squad, with Roko Simic going straight out on loan.

“We put a lot of our eggs in one basket, and from the player we have seen so far after 11 games, that looks like a ridiculous decision.

“He hasn’t scored yet in 12 games, and it’s not just the fact that he hasn’t found the back of the net, for me the real sticking point is that he is offering absolutely nothing.

“He doesn’t get in behind, he’s not running the channels. He’s quite a big lad but he doesn’t get involved in the physical side, so he doesn’t win duels.

“He doesn’t draw defenders in and win fouls, or do typical things like win a free-kick high up the pitch to kill the tempo when we need him to.

“He generally doesn’t get involved, he doesn’t drop deep to link up play. He is offering nothing to the team.

“Considering we put all our eggs in that basket with him, I think you would be expecting something more from him.

“I didn’t know a lot about Kanga before we signed him, but I'm just wondering why we did, full stop.

“This is a player with a fairly decent scoring record, albeit in slightly less competitive leagues. He doesn’t look capable of scoring, and he’s in a team now where the chances will be provided, so that’s not an excuse.

“His work ethic is also really poor. I’ve seen a lot of fans on social media doing a poll about the worst Cardiff striker of all time, and he’s already getting nominated by quite a lot of people.

“I don’t think I’d go as far to say that about him just yet, but he looks like a really poor signing, and considering how badly we needed a striker, it’s a surprise that we went for him."

Cardiff need more goals to avoid a relegation battle

The Bluebirds have had a tricky start to the new campaign, to say the least, with Erol Bulut relieved of his duties as boss last month with his side bottom of the Championship after picking up just one point from their first six league games.

Interim boss Omer Riza has certainly improved their fortunes since succeeding Bulut, with Cardiff now unbeaten in five games and sitting in 20th position, yet their form in front of goal still leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the rest of the league.

They have scored 11 league goals to date, which is the joint-second least in the Championship so far, with rivals Swansea City the only worse team with just eight strikes, and the Bluebirds' struggles in front of goal can certainly be attributed to a lack of a decent centre-forward, with Kanga yet to find his feet.

Cardiff's highest league scorer is Callum Robinson, with four goals, and not one other player has hit two strikes as yet, with six more players on one solitary goal in the Championship so far.

Robinson is currently injured, and so it is plainly obvious that, unless other players start to find the back of the net as well as him, the Bluebirds will continue to struggle in the long-term, regardless of who is appointed as their new permanent boss.

Kanga has scored goals at a decent standard of football before, yet he must start to improve his all-round game, as well as his form in front of goal in Robinson's absence, or risk facing even harsher criticism going forward.