By Paul Jones
Cardiff City are reported to be in talks with West Bromwich Albion over signing Callum Robinson after Bluebirds boss Steve Morison admitted the club had been turned down by a number of strikers.
Morison watched his side slump to a 2-1 home defeat to Luton Town on Tuesday night, after which the manager had a heated conversation with opposite number Nathan Jones about the manner of the Welsh boss’s post-match celebrations.
Of more concern to Cardiff fans is their recent slump which has seen them not win in their last four games, during which they have scored just once.
It is that need for a striker that has led Morison to be linked with Robinson, the Republic of Ireland international who currently appears to be no more than a bit-part player at West Brom.
Any move is likely to be a loan deal for a player who scored 14 goals for club and country last season.
The 27-year-old has made four Championship appearances so far this season, but all from off the bench. He was not in the squad for last night’s draw at Wigan.
Cardiff have only scored four times in their opening six matches although they did manage to claw back a goal after falling 2-0 down to Luton.
Luke Freeman and Gabriel Osho scored second-half goals as Luton and their Rhondda-born manager Jones won in this part of the world for the fourth time since February.
Romaine Sawyers gave Cardiff hope by drilling home low from 25 yards five minutes from time, but it could not prevent Morison’s side sliding to a first home League defeat this term.
When asked if the defeat highlighted the need for Cardiff to sign a striker before Thursday’s transfer deadline, Morison replied: “Yes. Do you think I’m not trying?
“It’s not that I’m not making those decisions. There is not anyone in our remit at the minute that’s available.
“Sam Surridge is not available. Liam Delap is someone we looked at, he picked Stoke over us and West Brom. Ellis Simms was someone we looked at but he picked Sunderland over us.
“We have been close. We just haven’t got one. The words people going on about, we have been working our behinds off since April last year, hence why we have got the amount of players we have got in.
A few from Cardiff City v Luton Town #CARLUT #CardiffCity #lutontown pic.twitter.com/bVxB5FAp1D
— Paul Jenkins💜 (@pauljenkinspix) August 31, 2022
“Summer holiday… what was a summer holiday? Holidays were sitting up at 4am in the morning, talking to the board while I’m in America, trying to get a player through the door.
“To keep using the phrases people keep using about us in our hunt for a striker is a bit disrespectful, because we are working as hard as anyone in the Football League to bring someone in.
“If they do, then great, if not then we crack on because that is life.”
On the defeat, Morison said: “It was disappointing because we dominated the game from start to finish. “We gave a couple of chances away and they took them; the second one was offside but that’s life.
“As a team we didn’t finish our moments of good play off and they did. There are lots of ifs, buts and maybes but the only thing we know for sure is we lost the game.”
