It is probably not hyperbole to say that without the signing of Sory Kaba 15 minutes before January's transfer deadline, Cardiff City would likely be readying themselves for a campaign in League One.
Having been drafted into a team painfully short on goals, the striker's eight goals in the space of 14 games went a long way to ensuring the Bluebirds' safety following a long and arduous campaign.
He wants to come back, too. Sabri Lamouchi has made that much clear in recent weeks. Cardiff's EFL transfer embargo, prohibiting them from signing players for a fee, renders that nigh-on impossible, though. The Guinean is entering the final year of his contract with Danish side FC Mitdjylland and he will likely either be sold or kept to play a part for them next season. Lamouchi predicts that Kaba will be back in the UK next year, though, but it does seem highly improbable he will be donning the blue of Cardiff City.
From the moment he first took the pitch, he endeared himself to Cardiff fans. The side looked far more dangerous when he was playing and was a far more useful focal point than any of the other strikers City had at their disposal.
Perhaps he wasn't the most elegant of footballers, but, boy, he sure knows where the back of the net is. And his overhead kick against Watford, rightly named the goal of the season, was simply sublime.
He just got it. He did the Ayatollah within seconds of the City fans asking and he ran over to them and stole the show with three fist pumps following any victory. That, of course, tended to prompt a chorus of "Sory Kaba, we want you to stay!"
He will go down as a Cardiff cult icon, no doubt about that. So while many players pen departure posts when leaving clubs, you can't help but believe that Kaba's is truly authentic. When he says he will "always be a Bluebird in his heart", you believe him.
Writing on Instagram, he said: "Grateful. Thank you Cardiff. Thank you to my coach, thank you to my team-mates, thank you to the staff, thank you for the welcome, thank you for the trust, thank you to the supporters. Thank you for all the good moments.
"It was a pleasure for me to be one of yours during this last six stressful and wonderful months at the same time. We did it , we stay [in the Championship]. I wish you all the best for the future and I will always be a Bluebird in my heart. Keep going because everything is possible."
The accompanying hashtag reads '#bluebirdstodaybluebirdsforever' – but a Bluebird next season? Well, unfortunately, that looks unlikely.
READ NEXT:
Cardiff City skipper Joe Ralls trips up Burnley fan who was goading Bluebirds supporters
