Cardiff City transfer news as Collins leaves for Derby…

Cardiff City transfer news as Collins leaves for Derby County, forward signs and duo given chance

Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Wednesday, July 13.

James Collins has Derby County medical

Cardiff City striker James Collins has joined Derby County on a permanent deal, it has been confirmed.

The Bluebirds forward played the first pre-season game against Cambridge United, scoring in the 3-2 win in Leckwith last Saturday. However, he was not named in the squad for the 2-0 win over Newport County on Tuesday night. But he was in attendance in the stands.

Derby's protracted interest in the striker threatened to roll on into the season, with progress seemingly slow after interest was registered in the 31-year-old earlier in the summer.

But the saga has now come to an end, with the player having made the trip to Pride Park today.

A Cardiff City statement simply said: "James Collins has joined Derby County on a permanent deal. We'd like to thank James for his contribution while at CCS and wish him well for the future."

Sheyi Ojo completes Cardiff return

Cardiff City have completed the signing of former Liverpool winger Sheyi Ojo.

The 25-year-old has signed a two-year deal at the Cardiff City Stadium, and becomes the 11th signing of a busy summer for Cardiff. It's his second stint in the capital of his career.

Ojo enjoyed a positive loan spell at the Cardiff City Stadium back in the 2020/21 season, during which he registered five goals and seven assists in 42 appearances. He played as a conventional winger under Neil Harris before being moved to a second-striker role alongside Kieffer Moore under Mick McCarthy.

The forward left Liverpool at the end of last season as a free agent, having failed to really break into the first team under Jurgen Klopp. He spent last year on loan at Millwall, having previously enjoyed spells at Wigan, Wolves, Fulham, Reims and Rangers.

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Duo being given a chance

Tom Sang and Gavin Whyte did their chances of being reintegrated into the first-team squad no harm with their performances against Newport County on Tuesday night.

Sang was one of the more impressive performers in the middle of the park, alongside Ryan Wintle and Eli King, while Gavin Whyte scored and assisted in the 2-0 triumph.

Sang didn't make the pre-season trip to Edinburgh's Oriam training facility with the rest of the squad and it was thought he was moving closer to the exit door at Cardiff City Stadium after he and Steve Morison had disagreed over which position best suited him.

Having played twice in central midfield and shown two encouraging performances, Morison appears open to the idea of Sang forcing his way back into the fold. "They got important minutes," Morison said of the midfielders. "I'm really pleased for Kingy, for Ryan and Tom Sang. Tom wasn't involved at the start of pre-season, but he has come in and I thought he has been excellent.

"Maybe he might start believing he is a central midfielder!"

On Whyte, who has spent the last 18 months away on loan, he added: "Until someone makes an approach and says, 'I want your player', and we have a decision to make, everyone is all hands to the pump. Everyone has got to perform.

"Gav (Whyte) had two 45 minutes because he had an extended international break. We had a few others on internationals but didn't play any games. Everyone is at different stages. Tom has had a 45 and a 60 and if he keeps performing like that then he is in the mix along with everyone else."

Absences explained

There were a number of absentees against the Exiles, however Morison has allayed any fears over lengthy injuries.

Andy Rinomhota, Joe Ralls, Rubin Colwill, Romaine Sawyers, Dillon Phillips and Callum O'Dowda were all missing for the clash with the Exiles. So, too, were James Collins, but that was ahead of his move to the Rams as mentioned above, and Ebou Adams, whose shoulder injury might take some time to recover from.

But in terms of the others, Morison said nothing should be read into their absences on Tuesday night.

"Everyone is just at different stages. That's what we had tonight and that's what we did," Morison said when asked about those missing from the match.

"There's nothing to write home about. So everyone can stop their rumours."

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