Cardiff City have completed the signing of Bolton Wanderers striker Gary Madine for a fee believed to be in the region of £6 million, potentially rising to £8 million, as he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the Cardiff City Stadium

Madine has become the first player that Neil Warnock has added to his squad in the current transfer window as he looks to add quality to help the Bluebirds' push for promotion to the Premier League come next May. 

A gamble worth taking?

The reported fee involved with this transfer is certainly a topic that has got people talking. It is a lot of money for a player that has only scored 10 goals for Wanderers so far this season and does not have the best goalscoring record throughout his career so far. It will certainly be interesting to see how he fits into Cardiff's team between now and the end of the season.

It is a significant investment and is the biggest fee spent on a player under the ownership of Vincent Tan since their brief spell in the top flight in the 2013/14 campaign when the Bluebirds spent £11 million on midfielder Gary Medel. It remains to be seen whether Madine is worth the money but Warnock must be confident that he can continue to get the best out of the striker.

The striker has featured for Carlisle United, Rochdale, Coventry City, Chesterfield, Sheffield Wednesday, Blackpool and most recently Bolton so far in his career. However, this move is by far the biggest in his career and he will be desperate to score plenty of goals for Cardiff between now and the end of the season to earn the opportunity to play in the top flight next season. 

Warnock "delighted" to sign Madine

Warnock has spoken of his delight to get a deal for Madine over the line shortly before the window slammed shut. He told the club's official website: "He's been my number one choice all season and I'm delighted to capture him."

He added: "He’s been worth the wait, although I must admit that it wasn’t until the last 24 hours that I thought it might be possible. I must thank Vincent, Mehmet and Ken for their hard work in getting this over the line. I’m sure the fans will join me in welcoming Gary to the Club.”

The striker could make his debut for the club on Saturday afternoon as the Bluebirds travel to Elland Road to take on fellow promotion hopefuls Leeds United in a huge game. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Sam Straw
VAVEL Championship Editor. Journalism Student at The University of Sheffield. Nottingham Forest Season-Ticket Holder. Contributing to VAVEL UK since October 2016.