By Sam Hardwell,
@HardwellSam
With the conclusion of the 2016 – 2017 football season; preparations were already underway for 17 – 18 and Bluebirds boss Neil Warnock was not ready to rest on his laurels with youth on his side at 68.
Just thirty-eight days after Cardiff’s thrilling 3-0 away victory at Huddersfield Town; Warnock had reached an agreement to sign duo Neil Etheridge (goalkeeper) and winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing who were released from their parent clubs Walsall and Rochdale. The pair are to officially sign on July 1st.
In rather repetitive news; City had made a third offer for Aberdeen winger Johnny Hayes in the region of £1.2-million. The first couple were rejected in the January window and the third has been reported to be turned down. Warnock has indicated the club is to waste no further time on a player uncertain on his future and will look elsewhere.
On the June 6th, it was announced that tenacious defender Lee Peltier and speedy winger Junior Hoilett signed new deals committing their future to the football club. Peltier will now remain with the club until summer 2019 and Hoilett will remain for a further year in the Welsh capital as the pair dazzled since signing.
The latest addition to the squad would seem promising for the Cardiff City faithful, as Scottish full-back Callum Paterson signed for the club in a three-year-deal. The Scotland international has made over 150 first-team appearances for Hearts and looks set to hit the ground running.
“I’m absolutely delighted and buzzing to be part of this big club.
“It’s nice and early so I’ve got a lot of time to bed in, get to know my way around the area and introduce myself. It’s great timing and I’m happy to be here.
“Anyone that has watched me has seen that I like to attack. I’m athletic and I like to go forward and try and get on the end of crosses.
“‘I’m a great attacker and I like to score my goals, so hopefully I can come here and score a few too.”
If the 22-year-old is even half of Kevin McNaughton’s shadow, the Scott should settle very quickly. However, Paterson may not make a first team appearance until October due to cruciate-ligament damage he suffered against Kilmarnock at Tynecastle on December 27th… Hopefully it’ll be worth the wait.
Out of the blue, a shock to both Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday fans emerged that the Owls had made a £3-million bid for Bluebirds skipper Sean Morrison. The bid was quickly rejected by the club with Warnock commenting: “that bid wouldn’t even buy one of Morrison’s legs.”
Warnock rates Morrison as one of his better defenders and with his leadership qualities, he doesn’t see it smart to sell the Bluebirds captain fantastic if they are to push on for promotion next season. To be fair, we wouldn’t want to see a repeat of a sorrow Mark Hudson departure in a horrid Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era.
The declined offer for Morrison brought some mixed opinions with both the Bluebirds and Owls faithful on social media…
With the amount of success that Warnock has achieved in his time in the Championship, the confidence can surely be put into the Yorkshireman’s judgement for the season ahead…
Sam Hardwell - Football Correspondent 