Cardiff City fans heard the rumours they prayed wouldn’t surface this week.
Star striker Kieffer Moore, who until yesterday hadn’t been linked with any move away from the Welsh capital this summer, has now been mentioned as a target for Premier League side Wolves.
A fee of £7million has been mooted in reports, which seems, to put it mildly, rather low for an international player who hit 20 goals last term.
New Wolves boss Bruno Lage is looking for competition for Raul Jimenez and 19-year-old Fabio Silva at Molineux.
All Bluebirds supporters know that Moore is capable of performing at the highest level – he proved that at the European Championships this summer – but to lose their main man for such a lowball fee would sting even more.
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His manager, Mick McCarthy, isn’t concerned, though.
Asked if he was worried about losing his striker following the 3-1 win over Millwall, he replied : “No.
“I don’t worry about things I can’t do anything about. If somebody comes in with a huge sum of money, I’m sure the club would consider it.
“I hope that’s not the case. But I’m not going to sit here and worry about it.
“Not at all.”
So when McCarthy mentions “a huge sum of money”, what are we really talking about?
It is obviously difficult to place a value on Moore’s head because he means different things to different people and is therefore valued as such.
To Wolves he is a second tier striker who would likely play back-up to Jimenez and Silva; to the Bluebirds he is not far off priceless, such is the way their attack and indeed their whole modus operandi dovetails around him.
Last season Moore hit the golden 20-goal mark and he was only outdone by three strikers in the Championship – Ivan Toney, Adam Armstrong and Teemu Pukki.
All three are now Premier League players, with Toney linked with £30million moves this summer and Armstrong swapping Blackburn Rovers for Southampton for £15million earlier this month.
Ollie Watkins the season before last hit 25 goals for Brentford and sealed a £28million move to Aston Villa, and Rhian Brewster secured a £23million transfer to Sheffield United on the back of 11 goals for Swansea City.
Armstrong is five years Moore’s junior but following his move to St Mary’s, Cardiff and Wolves have been given a transfer guide from which to negotiate.
Moore is 29 with two years left on his Cardiff City Stadium contract. He is an international at the peak of his powers right now and to replace him would cost a great deal and with time now of the essence – there is a week left of the summer transfer window – it would prove extremely problematic.
Wolves will see £10million as a price to do business, whereas the Bluebirds will no doubt use Armstrong’s transfer fee to push for something closer to £15million.
It all underlines how vital the frontman is to them. At what price they do a deal is anyone’s guess right now.
To lose Moore so late in the day would likely bring chaos to Cardiff – but to see him leave for a fee well below his true value would be even worse.
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