Cardiff City missed out on the signing of defender Danny Batth from Sunderland on deadline day.
According to journalist Alan Nixon, Batth was “cleared by Sunderland to move to Wales but the Bluebirds were blocked from doing the deal because of their EFL signing restrictions”.
Batth instead completed a move to Norwich City, putting pen-to-paper on a one-year contract at Carrow Road with the option of a further year.
The 32-year-old was surprisingly allowed to depart Sunderland this summer, despite making 42 appearances in all competitions last season as the Black Cats reached the play-offs and being named the club’s Player of the Year.
Done deal as goal machine snub Cardiff City and sign for Norwich City on deadline day
Nixon claims that Batth’s age and salary were the reasons behind his shock exit from the Stadium of Light, with Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray admitting that the decisions to let Batth and Lynden Gooch leave were “really tough”.
Despite failing to secure the signing of Batth, it has been a busy summer for Cardiff, with Dimitrios Goutas, Yakou Meite, Aaron Ramsey, Manolis Siopis, Ike Ugbo, Karlan Grant, Josh Bowler, Runar Alex Runarsson and Jonathan Panzo arriving as new manager Erol Bulut rebuilds his squad.
How much of a blow is it for Cardiff City to miss out on Danny Batth?
FLW’s Cardiff City fan pundit Ben Johnsey was not too disappointed at missing out on Batth and believes the club are well-stocked at centre-back after the addition of Panzo from Nottingham Forest.
“I wasn’t too disappointed in losing out on Danny Batth,” Ben said.
“Cardiff definitely needed centre-back reinforcements and have done for a long time with the release of Jack Simpson the day before deadline day, but Cardiff did end up going ahead with Jonathan Panzo, who does look to be a good signing and will definitely fit Erol Bulut’s system.
“Batth is definitely a good player and will be a good player in the Championship, but as it stands for what Cardiff need, I think Panzo is a better option and a younger option who is likely going to be able to play more minutes if Cardiff are going to have an injury at centre-back.
“That’s going to be the key thing because Panzo is definitely going to be getting a lot of game time, and we want players in there that, if need be, are going to play more games than not.”
What next for Cardiff City?
It has been a disappointing start to the season for Cardiff.
The Bluebirds head into the international break sitting 19th in the table after picking up just four points from their opening five league games.
Bulut’s side surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Ipswich Town on Saturday, and they are back in action with a huge game against Swansea City in the South Wales derby at the Cardiff City Stadium in just under two weeks’ time.
After conceding 10 goals in their first five games, Batth would have helped to tighten up the Bluebirds’ defence, but Panzo performed well at Coventry City last season, and he should add some much-needed solidity at the back.
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