Cardiff closing in on transfer deal for Middlesbrough player

Cardiff City are closing in on the loan acquisition of Uche Ikpeazu from Championship rivals Middlesbrough, according to Wales Online.

Boro boss Chris Wilder confirmed last week that there was interest from the Bluebirds in the 26-year-old, with the Welsh side looking at a potential physical replacement for Kieffer Moore, who is set to join Bournemouth.

And Steve Morison is set to land his man, with Ikpeazu falling down the pecking order at the Riverside thanks to the recent arrivals of Aaron Connolly and Folarin Balogun on loan.

Ikpeazu only signed for Boro in the summer under the management of Neil Warnock, who brought him in from Wycombe Wanderers after scoring six times for the Chairboys in the Championship last season.

But after making a number of appearances from the bench under Wilder’s management in the last few months, he’s now set to seek regular game-time in South Wales instead with a loan deal set to be signed for the remainder of the campaign where he will join another former Middlesbrough man in Jordan Hugill.

The Verdict

This would signal that the pursuit of Bristol City’s Nahki Wells is perhaps over.

They are not similar whatsoever stylistically but you could only imagine one of Wells or Ikpeazu coming in and it now looks like it will be the latter.

Ikpeazu will definitely replace the physical presence that will depart when Moore’s exit is confirmed but Jordan Hugill can also play that role, which makes this a bit of a puzzling one.

Steve Morison though clearly wants some depth and with the physical nature of his game it’s perhaps clear that Cardiff are going to go more direct in their battle to get out of the relegation zone.

Source