Cardiff City made their first foray into the summer transfer window earlier this week by snapping up Andreas Cornelius from FC Copenhagen for a reported club record fee of £8.5m.
The 20-year-old – who has previously been linked with Everton and Stoke – arrives on a five-year deal and, having completed his medical on Monday morning, will link up with the Bluebirds first-team squad after a short vacation.
In an interview with the club’s official website, Cornelius went on to say:
“This is a dream come true for me. I’ve been given a great opportunity and this is a very exciting project that’s taking place at Cardiff City. I’m very happy to be here and to be playing for this club in the Premier League. There were opportunities for me this summer and I had to think about what was the right thing to do, the correct step for me to take in terms of my career. I was impressed by what the club is trying to do, the fact it has reached the Premier League and that it has a passionate fan base supporting it.”
The History
Handed his first-team debut in April last year, Cornelius made a couple of brief sub appearances before starting the 2012/13 season as a first-team regular. The six foot four forward – who is nicknamed “The Danish Tank” – quickly demonstrated his target man potential and over the course of his first full season, racked up 18 goals and five assists in just 34 appearances. Cornelius’ displays helped Copenhagen power their way to the title and earned him the club’s Player of the Year award. He has represented his country at Under 18, 19 and 21 level a total of 22 times, finding the net on six occasions, and has notched once in seven appearances for the senior side.
The Prospects
As discussed in last month’s article on Cardiff’s title-winning season, Mackay’s preference for a target man was a real feature of his side’s play. Heidar Helguson was mainly utilised in the role last time out and subsequently ended up the Welsh outfit’s top scorer with nine goals and six assists over 39 appearances but with the former QPR man moving on and Mackay clearly not convinced by Rude Gestede, Cornelius is set to fill the space vacated by Helguson’s departure.
Whether as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 or as part of a two-man frontline in a 4-4-2, Cornelius is likely to be assured game time, then, with the Bluebirds looking to supply him with crosses aplenty from the flanks. While the diminutive Fraizer Campbell impressed with seven goals in 12 appearances since moving to the club in January, he may struggle to mirror Cornelius’ game time on the road, with Mackay’s somewhat tentative tactics likely to see Cardiff start many away games with one up top and perhaps move to a front pairing later on in matches. Craig Bellamy also offers an option through the middle in a front two but with his pace and tenacity on the flank a key part of Mackay’s 4-5-1 formation, his appeal is somewhat diminished.
Given that Cardiff were hardly prolific last term (72 goals in total, with 37 at home and 35 away), their chief attacking assets seem likely to be kindly priced across the Fantasy games. A cost of around 5.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) for Cornelius looks about right but with just one full season of football under his belt, many will be sceptical as to whether he can mirror last term’s exploits.
The Dane not only possesses the work-rate, power and physique to complement Mackay’s approach, he is also a tricky customer on the ground for someone of his size – with home games against City, Everton and Spurs, in addition to trips to West Ham and Fulham in the first six Gameweeks, though, the opening schedule looks enough to deter any initial suitors. With only an away day at fellow new boys Hull over that spell seeming favourable, Fantasy managers may well be prepared to hold fire and allow Cornelius time to settle before deciding whether he’s worth the investment as a budget third forward for the season ahead.
