Cardiff City's newest goalscoring hero Uche Ikpeazu has revealed the telling advice he received from two of his Middlesbrough pals before he sealed his deadline-day move to south Wales.
The striker signed for City late on Monday following the departure of Kieffer Moore to Bournemouth after Steve Morison had chased him for a number of weeks.
Once he knew of Cardiff's interested, the 26-year-old leant on two former Bluebirds fan favourites in Sol Bamba and Lee Peltier, both of whom are now at Boro, to seek advice about the club.
And Ikpeazu revealed the glowing praise the 2018 promotion-winning duo had for the Welsh capital city club, a factor which no doubt helped convince the striker it was the perfect club for him.
"When I had the option of joining I wanted to do it," Ikpeazu said of his transfer to Cardiff.
"There has always been something about the club I always liked.
"Cardiff City are an amazing club and I love the stadium. I spoke to Sol Bamba and Lee Peltier and they said that Cardiff City are one of the best clubs they've ever played for.
"I want to help this team climb up the table. Cardiff City are one of the best teams in the Championship and should be higher up the division."
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Ikpeazu certainly helped push Cardiff in the right direction on Wednesday night.
Just minutes after being introduced off the bench up at Oakwell, the imposing striker showed just why he was brought to the club.
He shoved his way through two defenders, all while keeping the ball under control, before slotting coolly past Bradley Collins in the Tykes goal.
It is the second time in as many games a debutant has made a telling contribution, after Jordan Hugill scored the opening goal in the 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest at the weekend.
And Ikpeazu said he couldn't have wished for a better start to life as a Bluebird.
"It was amazing, scoring on my debut and winning the game," Ikpeazu added. "It couldn't have been a better day.
"For me, it was probably more instinctive than anything. You're taught from a young age to hit it across goal and that's what I did.
"I saw Jordan score on his debut and it's always an amazing feeling, so I thought, 'why not do it myself?'
"Overall, it was a great team performance. We stayed in the game in the first half and found a way to win.
"We're going to need more team performances like this if we're going to kick on. There is still work to do. We've got a lot of talented players. I know the best is yet to come."
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