Why Zain Westbrooke could be a smashing signing for Cardiff City
According to Wales Online, Cardiff City are among a host of Championship clubs to have expressed an interest in signing Coventry City midfielder Zain Westbrooke, who has been in fine form for the Sky Blues in the EFL League One this term.
The 23-year-old has caught the eye with several top-notch displays for Mark Robins’ promotion-chasing side in the third-tier, accumulating 4 goals and 4 assists in 24 appearances across all competitions.
Westbrooke, who made his move to St. Andrew’s from Brentford in the summer of 2018, has started 19 out of Coventry’s 23 games in League One so far and has been instrumental in the Sky Blues’ surge up to third in the standings behind Wycombe Wanderers and Rotherham United.
Born in Chertsey, Westbrooke started his footballing education at Chelsea before moving on to join West London neighbours Brentford on a scholarship deal. The 23-year-old excelled for the Bees’ ‘B’ team but he made only one first-team appearance, spending time on loan at Solihull Moors and Leyton Orient in the National League before completing a switch to Coventry City.
Cardiff City would need to fend off interest from Championship rivals Leeds United and Bristol City in their pursuit of the highly-rated 23-year-old, who has already drawn comparisons with Leicester City ace James Maddison for his talent and style of play. (h/t Wales Online)
Meanwhile, Cardiff came back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw against Carlisle United and settle for a Round 3 replay in the FA Cup against the fourth-tier opposition, thanks to goals from Calum Paterson and Gavin Whyte.
Neil Harris, who took over the reins from Neil Warnock towards the end of November, guided the Bluebirds to three victories and a draw in his first four games but the Welsh outfit have since managed only a solitary win in their last six games.
The 6-1 humiliation at the hands of QPR last week was a massive reality check and yet another reminder of the fact that the current squad is far from the side that won promotion to the Premier League back during the 2017-18 campaign.
As per the report, the manager has laid down a hint that he could well move some players on in order to trim down a bloated squad and make way for some new arrivals. However, the season-ending hamstring injury to Nathaniel Mendez-Laing could necessitate some immediate action during the mid-season trading period in January.
Lee Tomlin’s impressive resurgence under Harris has solved some major creative issues for Cardiff City but the Bluebirds can certainly do with a bit more quality in the final third, with the likes of Josh Murphy, Gavin Whyte, Gary Madine and Omar Bogle all failing to impress this season.
With Joe Ralls, Will Vaulks, Marlon Pack and Leandro Bacuna all established players at the Championship level, central midfield is one area where Cardiff ideally don’t need too many changes.
Verdict
However, with Ralls currently missing from the squads due to a broken hand and Vaulks only a peripheral figure in the ranks, the door still remains open for a creative player like Zain Westbrooke to come through the door and make an impact.
Essentially a central midfielder by trade, the 23-year-old has the skill set to switch between deeper and attacking roles in the middle of the park whilst also possessing the versatility to play in a wide attacking role.
As per whoscored, Westbrooke has averaged 41.6 passes per game at an accuracy percentage of 79.2, including 2.2 key passes, 1.1 crosses, 1.7 long balls, 1.2 tackles and 0.5 interceptions per game in League One this term, figures which lie testament to his well-rounded qualities as a hardworking and versatile creative midfielder.
The 23-year-old’s arrival in South Wales would certainly add that much-needed X-Factor to Cardiff City’s attack while also increasing competition for places and leading to a much-needed reshuffling of options. Plus, his ability to play in a No.10 role would also reduce the burden on Tomlin, who has re-established himself as a go-to man under Harris.
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All in all, Cardiff City could land themselves an absolute gem of a player if they manage to win the race for Zain Westbrooke in the coming days.
