Why Petar Musa could be a good long-term signing for Cardiff City
According to claims from Football Insider, as cited by Wales Online, Cardiff City are lining up a move for Croatian U21 striker Petar Musa, who currently plies his trade with Czech top-flight outfit Slovan Liberec on loan from Slavia Prague.
EFL Championship rivals Bristol City have also been credited with an interest in the 21-year-old hitman, who has netted 8 goals in 21 appearances for Liberec in all competitions so far this season. (Football Insider h/t Wales Online)
Wales Online understands that Cardiff City are in the winter market for a new striker, with manager Neil Harris confirming that he is keen to add more quality to his squad in a bid to mount a strong challenge for the playoff spots in the coming months.
The Bluebirds had a £2.3 million bid rejected by Wigan Athletic for Welsh international striker Kieffer Moore and have opted to cool their interest, with the Latics demanding a fee of around £4 million to part ways with the gigantic forward. (h/t Wales Online)
Cardiff have now turned their attention elsewhere and Musa is the latest striker to have been linked with a move to South Wales. The highly-rated youngster has caught the eye in his first season in the Czech top-flight and his red-hot form has seemingly convinced the Bluebirds that he is capable of making the step up to the EFL Championship.
Born in Zagreb, Croatia, Musa started his footballing education at NK Zagreb and subsequently featured for Inter Zapresic in his homeland before departing to join Slavia Prague in the Czech Republic back in the summer of 2017.
The 21-year-old, though, is yet to make a senior competitive appearance for Slavia, having spent back-to-back seasons on loan at Viktoria Zizkov in the Czech second-tier before joining Slovan Liberec on loan in the top-flight prior to the start of the ongoing campaign.
Meanwhile, Cardiff City are yet to register any new players in the winter market but one does get the feeling that the Bluebirds will surely need to get some business done before the January deadline if they are really serious about making a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
To that end, Harris has some gaping holes to fill in multiple areas of his squad. While a new left-back to provide cover and competition for Joe Bennett is a necessity following the departure of Armand Traore, the injury to Nathaniel Mendez-Laing could also prompt some immediate action in the transfer window.
However, with Gary Madine completing a switch to Blackpool and Isaac Vassell expected to be sidelined for at least the next couple of months due to an injury, the Bluebirds need to prioritize the recruitment of a new striker before the deadline at the end of the month.
Robert Glatzel (4) and Danny Ward (5) have chipped in with some decent goal contributions but they aren’t anywhere near the top goal contributors in the Championship, meaning that Cardiff need to bolster their attack with some additional goalscoring firepower heading into the all-important last quarter of the campaign.
Verdict
It is worth arguing that a striker with proven Championship pedigree would fit the bill better at this point in the season, with top-flight promotion on the line, but Cardiff will eventually need to polish a few gems if they are to carve out an identity for themselves.
Securing promotion to the Premier League should be of utmost importance but it is imperative to say that the Bluebirds also need to lay down a solid platform for the future, and Musa could be an exciting addition to the ranks in that regard.
The Croatian U21 star still has his best years ahead of him and is only going to get better with time, meaning that a significant outlay in the market for his services could be well worth it.
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Having said that, Cardiff City beating off competition in the race to sign Petar Musa could pay off handsomely for their long-term plans moving forward.
