Cardiff is an ‘appealing place’ to come, says Neil Warnock amid interest in Liverpool’s Nathaniel Clyne

Despite a slow start to the season, Cardiff have picked up towards the end of 2018 and now find themselves three points clear of the relegation places following Saturday’s 1-0 win over Leicester

Ethan Georgiou
Monday 31 December 2018 13:37 GMT
Comments
Premier League weekend round-up: Liverpool extend lead at top in final games of 2018

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Neil Warnock believes Cardiff City “is an appealing place” for prospective new signings amid talk of the club’s interest in Liverpool’s Nathaniel Clyne and Dundee’s Glen Kamara.

Despite a slow start to the season, Cardiff have picked up towards the end of 2018 and now find themselves three points clear of the relegation places following Saturday’s 1-0 win over Leicester. They face Arsenal on Tuesday with the possibility of widening that gap even further.

The January transfer window is fast approaching and Warnock has admitted that the club are looking at areas to be improved. One of Warnock’s targets is Liverpool’s Clyne, who has seen less first team football since the development of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

“We’ve spoken to Liverpool early on in the window but he’s their player and he’ll decide,” said Warnock. “I’ve always liked Nathaniel and we are looking at that position, but that would fill our loans up and mean we can’t sign a striker.

“We spoke about him, but then he got back into the Liverpool team against Manchester United, then they had a few injuries, so things change. If you look at the club at the moment, it’s an appealing place to come but I can only have one loan from England, the rest would have to be from abroad.”

Warnock was fully aware of the time it can take for players abroad to adapt to what is one of the toughest leagues in the world.

“Even if we sign players, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be in the team. It’s a difficult league to come into. They say it takes six months to bed in but we don’t have six months.”

Nantes' Emiliano Sala, left, is said to be transfer target for Cardiff
Nantes' Emiliano Sala, left, is said to be transfer target for Cardiff (AFP/Getty Images)

The club are also reportedly interested in the signature of Nantes’ Argentinian forward Emiliano Sala.

Asked about Sala, Warnock said: “There’s always a chance with everybody and we’ve spoke to clubs about numerous people. I read somewhere that the player doesn’t want to come, but I wouldn’t believe everything you read. Things could change.”

Dundee’s Kamara is yet another player who Warnock feels has the potential to help Cardiff avoid relegation. “I’ll have to ask our lads if we’re interested,” the manager said. ”He’s a good player without a shadow of a doubt, he’s one of a number of Scottish lads we’ve looked at.”

With five wins now under their belt, the Cardiff boss believes the recent improvement in form will make their transfer search slightly easier.

“We’re looking to strengthen this team and results like this [win against Leicester] will definitely help me, we’re not adrift at the bottom of the table. I won’t sign players that aren’t better than the ones we’ve got even though I know we need a bigger squad.

“People might think, I don’t want to go to a team at the bottom of the table, but it’s difficult to bring players in.”

With Cardiff facing Tottenham on Tuesday, Warnock heaped praise on Spurs and England striker Harry Kane.

“He’s just a good person, he epitomises everything that’s good about English football. A good leader and a good talker. Tottenham now have a much better squad than what they’ve had in the past.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in