“It’s slightly early to say” – Cardiff City fan pundit discusses possibility of deal for Middlesbrough player

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 should bide their time before deciding whether to pursue Middlesbrough forward Uche Ikpeazu on a permanent deal or not, according to FLW’s Cardiff fan pundit Ben Johnsey.

The former Reading youth player was given the green light by Boro manager Chris Wilder to leave the Riverside Stadium last month after seemingly being deemed surplus to requirements.

Aaron Connolly and Folarin Balogun both arrived on loan deals from Brighton and Arsenal in the previous window to compete with the likes of Duncan Watmore and Andraz Sporar, two players who have been lucky enough to remain in first-team contention on Teesside.

The same can’t be said for summer signing Ikpeazu though who was brought in by former boss Neil Warnock with the 73-year-old keeping close tabs on the forward for numerous years.

A change in manager in November has been detrimental to his career in North Yorkshire though – and he has come in with Jordan Hugill to fill the void Kieffer Moore has left following the Welsh international’s departure to AFC Bournemouth on deadline day.

With both Ikpeazu and Hugill arriving on loan, one or both of them would ideally come in permanently to avoid a severe striker shortage at the Cardiff City Stadium in the summer – but FLW’s Bluebirds pundit Johnsey believes his side need to bide their time before making this decision.

He said: “I think it’s slightly early to say whether Cardiff should sign Uche Ikpeazu on a permanent.

“He’s done well, but at the end of the day, he’s played around about 60/70