Here are your Cardiff City transfer headlines for Friday, August 5.
Ince: Shame Rinomhota turned us down for Cardiff
Reading boss Paul Ince has spoken of his disappointment at how Andy Rinomhota turned down a new contract at the Royals to join the Bluebirds.
The central midfielder's contract expired at the end of last season and was offered a new deal by the Berkshire club. Reading boss Ince felt confident he would convince him to remain with the club, but in the end the Bluebirds swooped and got their man.
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Speaking ahead of Rinomhota's return to Reading on Saturday, Ince said of the player: "It'll be great to see Andy. He was a fantastic kid in the short time I was here with him. He was outstanding. He got injured towards the end but he's a wonderful lad and a top, top player.
"It's a shame we had to lose both him and Josh Laurent at the same time. It was a big blow but he's made his decision now. He's gone to Cardiff and I'm sure he will be a success.
"Ultimately, he wanted to stay. When I spoke to him, he said how he loved his time here and wanted to continue playing for me, but like with everything, if you can't compete with the financial package other teams are offering then it's hard to keep these types of players.
"As much as it shouldn't be about money, football is a short career and if clubs offer more than us, then players have a decision to make. I don't think Andy was a money person, he always put his heart and soul into each game but we lost him, couldn't afford to keep him and we have got to move forward."
New boy Etete bids Tottenham goodbye
New signing Kion Etete has bid farewell to Tottenham have his four-year stint with the north London came to an end.
The Bluebirds announced him as the club's 14th signing of the summer and he gave an insight into what fans can expect from him this season and beyond in his first interview. You can read that here.
And, in a classy message, he issued his heartfelt thanks to the Premier League side and its staff.
He wrote on Instagram: "Just wanted to say, thank you to all the players and staff that helped me on my journey so far, I appreciate everything that’s been done for me at my time at the club. All the best to everyone on their individual journeys."
Aston Villa signing with 'great pedigree' raring to go
Perhaps the biggest indication of Cardiff City's strength in depth is the list of players who didn't play in that opening-weekend victory over title favourites Norwich City.
The Bluebirds came out 1-0 victors against the Canaries thanks to a goal from Romaine Sawyers, but when you take a look at the players who didn't even make the bench — Joel Bagan, Eli King, Oliver Denham, Vontae Campbell, Mark McGuinness and unfit trio Rubin Colwill, Ebou Adams and Isaak Davies among them — it makes the feat all the more impressive and paints a better picture for the campaign ahead than last season.
Another player who was absent was new signing Jaden Philogene. He was brought in two days before the Bluebirds' Championship curtain-raiser, but the buzz surrounding his arrival was quickly usurped by that win over the Canaries and subsequent fallout. The news of Tottenham striker Kion Etete signing perhaps pushed Philogene down that pecking order, too.
But he should not be forgotten about, far from it. As our Midlands expert Ashley Preece put it, he has everything in his locker to explode on to the Championship stage this season.
Given he was away on Aston Villa's pre-season tour of Australia, Steve Morison felt it was right not to throw him in at the deep end against Dean Smith's side last weekend. But it's a different story this weekend and it's fair to say the Bluebirds manager can't wait to see the Villa loanee in action.
Read what Steve Morison had to say about the new man here.
Reading boss fumes over West Brom star 'swanning off to Cardiff City'
Reading manager Paul Ince has opened up on how losing out to Cardiff City for the loan signing of Cedric Kipre left a "horrible taste" in his mouth.
West Brom centre-back Kipre became the Bluebirds' first loan signing of the summer, a key addition given Cardiff's well-documented shift to playing out from the back more this season.
The Bluebirds needed centre-back additions after the departure of senior defender Aden Flint and Sean Morrison's current injury strife. And, on the little evidence we have seen so far, Kipre has slotted into this new system well.
That might not have happened, though, if Reading got their way. Ince has revealed that Kipre, 25, was a transfer target for the Royals this summer and the manager himself spent a lot of time with him in an attempt to convince him that Berkshire was the place for him this term.
But Cardiff swooped and ultimately sealed the deal, much to the frustration of the Bluebirds' upcoming opponents, Reading. Speaking about the botched move, Ince said: "We looked at Kipre from West Brom and we thought we were close to getting him. When you’re trying to do deals with clubs, they’ve got you over a barrel.
"I spent a lot of time with him and his agent but financially we couldn’t compete, then you see him swanning off to Cardiff and it leaves a horrible taste in your mouth as you do all the work, the player wants to come but we’re governed by what West Brom ask the clubs to pay."
Bruce tells Zohore to go
West Brom boss Steve Bruce has given a brutally honest appraisal of former Cardiff City striker Kenneth Zohore and has told him to leave The Hawthorns this summer.
Zohore signed for the Baggies in 2019 in a deal worth more than £8million for the Bluebirds, an offer they simply could not turn down. Since then, though, his career has stalled.
He has scored just five league goals in three years, including a loan spell with Millwall, and does not look likely to break into the Baggies' side this season. For a player who showed in fits and starts at Cardiff that he had talent in front of goal, the 28-year-old has never truly made any impact with the Midlands club.
And now, in a candid assessment, Bruce has made his feelings known about the striker's situation.
"It's a struggle for Ken. He's got a bit of a tight groin at the minute. We don't think it's anything serious but he's back on the pitch on Friday. It's unfortunately an ongoing saga," Bruce said of the Dane to BirminghamLive.
"I think it's fair to say that he probably needs to move on, and find a new home. It's not gone well for him here. He's come through pre-season, he's got a tiny niggle but he's OK."
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