Will new trio make an impact at Cardiff?

Cardiff boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been busy in the transfer market in the January transfer window

Welsh club Cardiff City find themselves bottom of the Premier League table with 22 games played so far this season.

The Bluebirds were expected to be the best equipped out of the three promoted teams for life in the top-flight.

However, the club has endured a difficult season so far with owner Vincent Tan falling out with boss Malky Mackay, which led to the Scot leaving the club and former-Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer taking the reins.

Active

The former-Molde boss has certainly been active in the January transfer market. Solskjaer has already brought in compatriots Magnus Wolf Eikrem and Mats Daehli, who both played under Solskjaer at previous club Molde.

The Bluebirds also look set to complete the treble capture of Stoke’s Kenwyne Jones and Manchester United pair Wilfried Zaha and Fabio. Jones is arriving in a swap deal for Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie.

Brazilian full-back Fabio will arrive in the Welsh capital for an undisclosed fee, while Zaha is set to join on-loan from United with Cardiff paying a loan fee of around £1.5million.

Young

Fabio and Zaha are both relative young players. Fabio has had to live in the shadow of twin brother Rafael, who is more highly-regarded at United. Zaha is one of the most highly-rated young players in the Premier League. Both will provide youthful energy.

Coup

Cardiff signing Wilfried Zaha has to be regarded as a bit of a coup for the Welsh side. A number of Premier League clubs were believed to be interested in signing the England international in January. The 21-year-old shone brightly last season for Crystal Palace in their promotion season and earned himself a move to Manchester United.

Unfortunately the youngster has seen very little first team action at Old Trafford this season, making just four appearances for the Red Devils. The youngster is badly in need of regular first team football to develop his talent.

Exciting

The signing of Zaha is an exciting one. The youngster is the sort of player that will get the fans off their seats. With the World Cup in June, Zaha will be looking to impress England boss Roy Hodgson, especially with Arsenal’s Theo Walcott set to miss out.

Inconsistent

Kenwyne Jones is a major enigma. At times he looks like he could take on the world, yet at other times he looks like he is playing with his boots tied together. The Trinidad and Tobago international has most of the attributes to be a top striker though.

He is big, strong and good in the air. Jones should be the perfect Premier League striker, but he so often flatters to deceive. It seems that every manager that signs him believes that he can bring the best out of the striker, most have failed so far.

With his history as a Premier League striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should be the ideal manager to bring the best out of the enigmatic striker.

Potential

Fabio has a lot of potential, but he has been unable to force his way into the Manchester United team. At 23-years-old Fabio has made just 56 appearances for United since arriving at the club in 2008.

He spent last season on-loan at QPR and made 21 appearances while at Loftus Road. Fabio was expected to compete with twin brother Rafael for the right-back spot, but it seems that United boss David Moyes does not see his future at Old Trafford.

Stronger

All three players will make the Cardiff squad stronger. The major question is whether the trio can find consistent form for the rest of the season. For different reasons there are question marks over the entire trio.

For Zaha and Fabio it is their lack of experience in the Premier League, for Jones it his complete inability to put in performances on a consistent basis.

Survival

Cardiff may be bottom of the Premier League table, but the league table is very tight. Sunderland and West Ham are level on points with the Bluebirds, while Aston Villa in 10^th are just five points clear of the Welshmen.

The Bluebirds next game sees boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer return to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Tuesday night. The game will be a difficult one, especially as United’s record-signing Juan Mata could be making his debut.

Cardiff are not dead and buried in the race for survival. The men from the Welsh capital are odds of 10/11 to be relegated this season, so it seems they are being written-off. The Bluebirds still have a good chance of survival and I am sure the new signings can only help their cause.

Will new trio make an impact at Cardiff?