Football League World
·20 de janeiro de 2025
Football League World
·20 de janeiro de 2025
One of Neil Harris' final acts as Cardiff City manager was a transfer masterstroke which should now be replicated some four years on
One of Neil Harris’ final acts in the job at Cardiff City was landing a transfer swoop for then-Crewe Alexandra defender Perry Ng, who has stood the test of time to remain a key asset for a number of seasons while representing a mightily-impressive coup some four years on.
In 13 months leading the Bluebirds between November 2019 and January 2021, where his fate was sealed following a six-game losing streak across the turn of the year, Harris completed no less than eleven signings, and it would be fair to say mixed results were yielded.
Premier League loanees such as Filip Benkovic and Brad Smith were seldom seen and simply have to be recognised as, for one reason or another, rather uninspired acquisitions, while Cardiff notably got it wrong by signing Max Watters from Crawley Town, where he had emerged as one of the EFL’s hottest goalscoring properties in record time before heading to the Welsh capital.
But Harris, it must be said, nailed it on a number of occasions.
By measure of short-term impact, Harry Wilson was sensational on loan from Liverpool, Sheyi Ojo impressed away from the Reds - though the less said about his return the better - while Kieffer Moore still remains the only Cardiff striker to have reached 20 league goals in a single campaign in well over a decade.
But by measure of long-term impact, Perry Ng represents truly inspired business which Cardiff should, in a sense, be bidding to replicate at some stage this month.
Just three days before his eventual dismissal, Harris completed the signing of Perry Ng by bringing the then-Crewe Alexandra skipper to Cardiff.
As per reports, Ng joined on a two-and-a-half year contract in a deal worth an initial £350,000, which could - and likely has by this stage - increased to £500,000 on the proviso that add-ons are met.
Despite having never previously played above League One level, Ng looked instantly at home in the Championship as he set about locking down the right-back berth in Cardiff's side for years to come. He played, and started, 19 league fixtures in the remainder of the season, setting the tone for the continuity and consistency which was to follow.
Ng has completed three full seasons with Cardiff, all of which have yielded 39 or more appearances in league action. He has been a largely-dependable performer during his stay at the Cardiff City Stadium and it's telling that Ng has remained a constant in this side despite the Bluebirds' high managerial turnover - in Riza, they are on their sixth permanent boss in the four years in which the right-back has been with the club.
His finest hour came in the previous campaign, though, where Ng had begun to develop as one of the finest full-backs outside of the Premier League by scoring six goals and making a further four assists, which was the highest return of output throughout the Cardiff squad.
It was all the more remarkable given Ng is far from a marauding attack-minded right-back by trade, and few could have any contest when he won the club's Player of the Season award for the second term running.
Ng has dipped somewhat this season, but he's still an important player for Cardiff - though with increased competition from utility man Andy Rinomhota of late - and right-back is hardly a position in desperate need of strengthening.
Cardiff do not need to replicate this transfer exactly, rather the sort of deal it was. The likes of Peterborough United duo Kwame Poku and Ricky-Jade Jones, for example, are stars at League One level who have had no shortage of second-tier suitors. It could be something of a coup if Cardiff were to land either, with an enquiry for Jones having been first reported exclusively by Football League World at the start of the month.
In contrast, Ng, who was playing in League One at the time, was a much more low-key signing; he arrived at Cardiff for a modest fee and without an extensive bidding war for his signature.
But his near-seamless transition to the step-up which accompanied moving to Cardiff and the subsequent consistency and dependability which have followed for a number of years shows the quality of business that can be conducted in the third-tier, even for players not necessarily classed as "stars" and with considerable asking prices.
Cardiff still lack a direct, top-quality left-sided winger, while attacking midfield could also be a cause for concern amid a shortage of competition for talented playmaker Rubin Colwill, who has struggled for consistency in recent months.
Further work is poised to be completed following the inaugural January window signing of 23-year-old striker Yousef Salech, who is very much an embodiment of the more diverse, continental-based approach Cardiff have taken to recruitment as of late, having signed both Roko Simic and Jesper Daland back in the summer, but they and Riza should keep Ng in mind and avoid discounting potential domestic bargains just like the defensive stalwart to be found in League One.