Cardiff City must have serious £1 million regret - Vincent Tan now faces an easy decision | OneFootball

Cardiff may had high hopes when they signed the Dutch winger Anwar El Ghazi on a free transfer, but things haven't worked out as planned.

Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan faces a rebuild following relegation from the Championship this season, and one of the more straightforward decisions that he'll have to make this summer will concern Anwar El Ghazi.

The Bluebirds were relegated following a disastrous season during which they sank to the very bottom of the Championship table, ending six consecutive seasons in the Championship.

Having sacked previous managers Erol Bulut in September and his replacement Omer Riza in April, Cardiff are still looking for a new manager ahead of the summer. Aaron Ramsey took over the running of the team for the last three games of their League season.

Clearly there is a lot of work to do this summer at the Cardiff City Stadium this summer, but the decision over whether to keep forward Anwar El Ghazi on should be one of Vincent Tan's more straightforward decisions.

El Ghazi has been a huge disappointment at Cardiff throughout 2024/25

The former Aston Villa forward signed for the Bluebirds on a free transfer in the summer of 2024.

The appeal of signing him in the first place was clear. El Ghazi arrived at the club having already played for Ajax, Lille, Aston Villa, Everton and PSV, while he's also made two appearances for the Dutch national team.

After signing for the German club Mainz 05 from PSV in September 2023, he found himself in hot water with the club over a social media post, which resulted in the cancellation of his contract. He was later awarded €1.5 million compensation in a German court after winning an unfair dismissal case. He signed for Cardiff upon completion of this court case.

But his performances for his new club in the Championship have been a disappointment, with just three goals in 25 League games for the club all season. El Ghazi's struggles have been reflected in his overall performance match ratings, too.

The wide-man has seemingly already made his final appearance for Cardiff, which came in a 1-1 home draw against Sheffield Wednesday at the end of March.

El Ghazi spent the remainder of the season out injured, but even when he was fit and available, he often found himself behind the likes of Leicester City loanee Will Alves and 20-year-old prospect Cian Ashford in the pecking order.

Two factors combine to make the decision to release El Ghazi an easy-looking one for the Cardiff City owner, Vincent Tan.

Having signed only a one-year contract with the club upon the culmination of his court case, no compensation will be payable should Cardiff decide to let him go.

And while he may have been available to Cardiff on a free transfer, it would be a stretch to suggest that he has been cheap. Capology estimate his wages for the 2024/25 season to have been £20,000 a week, which amounts to just over £1 million a year.

Paying players this sort of money is par for the course in the Championship, though it should also be added that El Ghazi's salary was substantially higher than the Capology estimate for the average in the division, which is just under £12,000 a week.

With revenues sure to decrease following relegation, the Dutch winger feels like a luxury that Cardiff simply cannot afford in League One next season.

He has not covered himself in glory on the pitch for Cardiff, and a player of his pedigree would also be unlikely to want to stick around in League One anyway. All in all, it was a somewhat expensive gamble which seemed to be worth a punt at the time, but simply has not worked out for all parties.