By Graham Thomas
Cardiff City will look to Yousef Salech to help drag the club further away from the relegation zone this weekend.
The striker scored a last minute equaliser on his debut in midweek – a goal that not only rescued a point for the Bluebirds, but suggested there will be more to come.
The way the big £3m Danish striker chested down the ball, swiveled quickly, and fired home was exactly the type of firepower the club have lacked this season aside from the contributions supplied by Callum Robinson.
Now, Riza is hopeful more of his targets can be drafted in this weekend, either before or shortly after Saturday’s home clash with Derby County.
“I wanted him, I’ve been tracking him for a while now so that was great to have that one done,” says Riza of Salech.
“All the other ones that I’ve suggested are hopefully in the pipeline, so the board have been really good, the owner’s been really good with it.
“We’re all on the same page, which is important. I said we had to be really selective about what we were bringing in, it’s important you get it right.”
️ “We had to dig deep in midweek to get something and we did. Now, we go into the Derby game and we need to work hard – we’re going into it to get three points.”
Watch Omer’s pre-match press conference ⬇️#CityAsOne
— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) January 23, 2025
That point at Millwall means Cardiff are unbeaten in six Championship matches – seven including their FA Cup win at Sheffield United – and have opened a two-point gap between themselves and Hull City, who top the relegation zone.
The draw on Tuesday night was achieved without injured trio Ollie Tanner, Alex Robertson and Callum O’Dowda, but all three are expected to be available for the home match against the Rams.
While Cardiff are resurgent, Derby are one of two teams – along with Luton Town – who appear to be falling like a stone.
They are looking to avoid their sixth successive Championship defeat and are only one point and one place above the drop zone.
Since returning to the Championship this season, Derby have won one of their 14 away League games. Only Plymouth Argyle have won fewer on the road (0) than the Rams.
While their new striker makes an impact, and injured players return, it will be too soon to expect an appearance this weekend from Aaron Ramsey, even though he has returned to training.
“It’s brilliant for Aaron. He’s had a few upsets in respect of his injuries, so it’s nice to see him back on the pitch training, even a little bit earlier than I thought,” says Riza
“Everyone knows what Aaron has done in his career, how much the club means to him and the experiences that he’s got. It’s nice for the players and the staff to have him back out there, I’m sure he’ll start to do more and more to get him back to playing.”
| South Wales derby
Looking back on a special Saturday in South Wales https://t.co/5llkfQg3Ff
See you at CCS tomorrow for another important match! #CityAsOne pic.twitter.com/aF3sQ3dJgR
— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) January 24, 2025
Ramsey will not be rushed for a return, though, as he is yet to complete a full training session.
He will regain some fitness by playing for the U21s, and only then, if he comes through it okay, will he be reintroduced.
“It’s important that we don’t rush him,” added Riza, “Although he’s an important player and we want him back, he’s had a couple of issues in the past and we just need to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Whilst Cardiff appear buoyant, Swansea City have not won in four matches and have slipped back to 15th in the table – only six points above the Bluebirds.
On Saturday, they are at Norwich City where they may well give a debut to new loan signing Hannes Delcroix, who has arrived from Burnley.
The 25-year-old Belgian defender will add much needed cover at centre-back, lessening the load and stress for regular partnership Ben Cabango and Harry Darling, who is about to start a suspension following a red card in the club’s midweek defeat to Sheffield United.
The club appealed the sending off, but were unsuccessful and Darling will miss the matches against Norwich, Coventry City and Bristol City.
That will give an early opportunity to former Belgian international Delcroix to make his mark
“We’re delighted to have an additional option in defence with Hannes joining us,” said Swans boss Williams.
“His versatility and experience will be invaluable to us. He has played in the top-flight and at international level, and we’re hopeful he will make an immediate impact on our squad.
“We look forward to working with him and seeing his contribution in our upcoming fixtures between now and the end of the season.” DragonBet make Cardiff 11/10 favourites to beat Derby, whilst Swansea are priced as 5/2 outsiders to gain victory at Norwich.