Emiliano Sala Completes Cardiff City Move

Who Exactly is Sala?

Sala is from Cululú, around 170 miles from Buenos Aires, and started his career with Club Escuela Proyecto Crecar in his native Argentina. Impressing at youth level, he joined Bordeaux but, upon arrival, he was not making much progress in breaking into the first-team. He was offered to a number of clubs in Italy’s third tier but was ultimately turned down.

Bordeaux loaned him out to teams in France’s lower leagues, where he started to not only gain form but a goalscoring reputation. After two successful loans, he started to become more involved with the first-team squad at his parent club, but in search of regular playing time would yet again be sent out on loan, this time to top-flight side Caen.

After this third and final loan spell, Sala’s parent club still didn’t see something in him and sold him permanently to Nantes, for a reported fee of €1 million. This would turn out to be a costly mistake. Sala has clearly been made to feel more at home at his new club and, in a total of 133 appearances, has scored 48 goals. Thanks to the trust Nantes have gave to Sala, they are now set to sell him for £15 million, making a huge profit.

Can Sala Help Cardiff?

This season has been rough for Cardiff. After a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United, the Bluebirds now sit in 18th spot, two points off safety, as we move over the halfway mark of this season. They are certainly in need of goals if they want to remain a Premier League club by the end of the season. After all, they are the second-lowest scorers in the league.

January is usually the time when clubs in Cardiff’s position look to bring in a new attacker in the hope that they will change their fortunes. Neil Warnock’s side are putting a lot of weight on the 28-year-old’s shoulders. He joins for £15 million, a club record fee but, despite Cardiff’s woes, the striker could be a revelation if he hits the ground running in the Welsh capital.

At 6’2″, you would consider Sala to be a target man and an aerial threat. He has also proved to be a pacy player and strong against defenders. With a good shot on him as well, Cardiff fans should be excited about his arrival. The club have already signed another striking option this month too, in Oumar Niasse on loan from Everton.

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