"We want you to stay, we want you to stay, Sory Kaba, we want you to stay!"
That is what the 1,900 travelling Cardiff City fans belted out at the sun-soaked Bloomfield Road stadium after Sory Kaba had run towards them and produced three enthusiastic fist pumps following his performance in the 3-1 win over Blackpool on Saturday afternoon.
Not only does Kaba know where the back of the net is, he just has that immediate connection with the fans. He gets it. He understands how important that rapport is and the supporters are lapping it up.
It helps, of course, that he knows where the back of the net is. His goal against Blackpool is his fifth in 10 games for the Bluebirds. At times, his performances are not the easiest on the eye: chasing down centre-backs appears to be a real chore and he is perhaps limited compared to other strikers in the division.
But goals come at a premium in the Championship, as countless strikers from Cardiff's recent past will attest to, and, crucially, he knows how to score them.
He is a serious problem for defenders while contesting the ball in the air - three of his five goals have been headers - while he showed composure to take the ball around Chris Maxwell to score against the Seasiders on Saturday.
Upon hearing the news that Callum Robinson was injured for a sustained period following the Reading clash, manager Sabri Lamouchi tasked Kaba with finishing the season as the club's top scorer.
He is now just two goals behind Robinson, who is likely ruled out for the season, and has eight games to get another couple in the bag. Lamouchi thinks the striker is improving with each passing outing in a City shirt.
"He is getting better and better, and the league is not finished," Lamouchi said of the Guinea international. "He is unbelievable. He helps us a lot. He scores really important goals. I am really happy with him, the team is really happy with him and he is happy with us."
Finding a Cardiff striker with a goal record of one in every two games is as rare as hen's teeth, especially in a struggling team which is battling to stave off relegation. Not even Kieffer Moore boasted that sort of record. Of course, it's just 10 games at the moment and it would be wise not to get carried away just yet.
"He's been brilliant, he's been a breath of fresh air," said captain Joe Ralls after the match. "He is a nice lad and obviously you can see he is enjoying being here, which is great.
"The fans love seeing that and I think he really enjoyed having Connor [Wickham] with him today, he looked a threat. He is doing brilliantly for us.
"He has come in to score goals and that's what he is doing. He is a really threat in the box. We have just got to keep providing him with as much as we can. We are confident he can score goals, because he has proven that already."
His goal record, though, coupled with his infectious personality, has prompted Bluebirds supporters to commit the cardinal sin. Rule number one of being a football fan: do not fall in love with loan players.
Bluebirds fan Soozles wrote on Twitter: "The age old story of falling in love with a loan player…"
Alex James said: "We've all broke the golden rule of not falling in love with a loan player again haven't we...."
"Don't fall in love with loan signings," Damien warned.
Jamie Pryor said: "These loan players pull on the heart strings. He was a colossus out there today. Hold up play was excellent and took his goal well."
But who can blame them? He keeps finding the back of the net and is scoring important goals. He netted in both derbies to boot. If Cardiff are going to beat the drop, then Kaba will be vital.
With Aston Villa loanee Jaden Philogene, there is an acceptance, just like Cody Drameh last year, that he will go on to bigger and better things next season. There's not much City can do about that.
With Kaba, however, there is a sense that he is gettable. It is his dream to play in the English Football League, he is thriving and has a real and immediate affinity with the club and its fans.
It's not straightforward, though. He is contracted to FC Midtjylland for another year and, as with any striker with a good goal record, would command a decent fee likely in the seven figures. At the time of writing, Cardiff cannot pay a fee for any player under the terms of their transfer embargo, which they are hopeful of lifting by the time the summer transfer window comes around.
Also, the Danish club are unlikely to allow Kaba to leave on loan in the final year of his contract as that makes very little business sense. The more goals he scores, the more prominently he will feature in the shop window, too.
So, for now at least, Cardiff fans will have to make the most of him. There are a maximum of seven games remaining on his current City contract and he can have a big say on which level they play their football next season. If he keeps scoring and, ultimately, keeps them up, then his status of fan favourite will be elevated to a true cult hero.
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