Cardiff City could fork out a transfer fee for the first time in 18 months as chairman Mehmet Dalman revealed the club are in talks to purchase a striker.
It is no secret that Cardiff want to bolster their options up front, with Max Watters and Mark Harris the only two fit strikers Steve Morison currently has at his disposal going into the new season. While the Bluebirds have strengthened in literally every other position this summer, no striker has come through the door.
City have made 13 signings already but that number is set to rise. And Dalman has revealed his ideal scenario would be to sign one striker permanently and another on loan. He also added that the permanent purchase would cost Cardiff a transfer fee, the first time they would have forked out significant money for a player since signing Watters himself from Crawley Town in January 2021.
"It's a little bit out of our hands at the moment," Dalman told A.C.E Podcast Nation. "We've identified our targets, we have had discussions and we have made our offers. We are waiting for clubs and the players concerned to come back to us.
"In an ideal world we would like to buy a player and loan a player in those two spots we've just discussed. I hope we get them over the line soon."
Generally speaking, Dalman added, the club want the transfer strategy to centre around shrewd free transfer signings and quality loan players. However, the chairman said there would be money made available to purchase players if a strong case was put forward to do so.
"We've always said if the management and recruitment team come up with a compelling argument, we will find the money to do so," he added.
"It would have to be an exception rather than the rule. For example, we are talking to a striker at the moment as a potential purchase. We will have to write a cheque out for that striker. And we think it's worth doing, we are having that discussion."
When asked if he was confident a striker would be through the door before the end of the window, Dalman said: "I hope so, we will do our best. I'll be on the phone to Steve Morison tomorrow morning to see where we are."
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