Frei gone to cardiff apparently

[Zu-Meister]

http://www.cardiff.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=297692

Cardiff City have acted swiftly to secure cover following midweek injuries to Bellamy and Tommy Smith and have brought in young Turkish winger Karim Frei on loan from Fulham.

Frei is only 18, but made a number of appearances for Fulham in the Premiership last year including high profile outings against the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea. He quickly made a name for himself with some silky running and showed superb pace.

The Austrian born winger is a product of Fulham's academy, and he has played most of his football as a right-sided winger. That position is one we look a little under strength in following injury to Smith - with Noone and Conway more comfortable on the left, and Don Cowie not a natural wideman.

Although a boost, this loan deal raises even more doubts about the futures of Kim Bo Kyung and Kadeem Harris in particular. Midfielder Kim is yet to break into the first team, despite his obvious pedigree while Kadeem Harris has been with ther Bluebirds almost a year but has yet to play at all - he is also a pacy right winger.

Frei will go straight into contention for Saturday's clash with Burnley but is lacking in match fitness having suffered a hip injury earlier in the season.



Only report i can find.

[leonffc]

Interesting. Could do the lad some good.

[fulhamben]

gutted i want to see him play for us

[TonyGilroy]

Of course he's played exclusively on the left for us.

Good loan move in principle.

[BishopsParkFantastic]

This is not good news, and shows how inconsistent Jol is with dealing with our best young talent, the age of our squad and 1st team and transfer policy. In July, Jol talked about the need to loan out our young players for experience, and specifically referred to Matthew Briggs, Pajtim Kasami and Marcello Trotta - that did make sense. Frei and Kaca should still be in the mix for 1st team matches, as that is the level they are at for their development. If Frei does exceptionally well and Cardiff are up for promotion, they will probably make a bid - it is quite possible Fulham will accept! Is this the way that Kaca will go? Jol's transfer policy is freezing out our young talent. It is all getting to be about the short term, and not looking to the future. Possibly, if this is true about Frei, you begin to wonder if this is also about reducing the wage bill with the type of transfers Jol has instigated?

[JackyFulham90]

This is not good news, and shows how inconsistent Jol is with dealing with our best young talent, the age of our squad and 1st team and transfer policy. In July, Jol talked about the need to loan out our young players for experience, and specifically referred to Matthew Briggs, Pajtim Kasami and Marcello Trotta - that did make sense. Frei and Kaca should still be in the mix for 1st team matches, as that is the level they are at for their development. If Frei does exceptionally well and Cardiff are up for promotion, they will probably make a bid - it is quite possible Fulham will accept! Is this the way that Kaca will go? Jol's transfer policy is freezing out our young talent. It is all getting to be about the short term, and not looking to the future. Possibly, if this is true about Frei, you begin to wonder if this is also about reducing the wage bill with the type of transfers Jol has instigated?


Not sure I agree with you here my 1st reaction was what the hell he is better than Richardson but it would actually be a good move he has been out all season will get him 3 or 4 games back up to full fitness which he won't get here with Kacaniklic & Richardson ahead of him right now

[elgreenio]

in all honesty, this is good news for us if true. Kaca/Richardson/Ruiz have us sorted for left mid, would be nice for him to learn his trade and get some momentum going a la Kaca last season

[fulhamben]

more to the point, will i still be able to use him on fifa

[TonyGilroy]

Frei needs games and he'll get that at Cardiff. If he does well it becomes more likely that he'll come back to the club ready to challenge for a first team place.

There's no need to assume that he's on the way out. I'm sure we wouldn't sell and that Frei's ambitions are set higher than Cardiff.

Our kids need to play at the highest level possible.

[Riverside]

If short term and recallable ( based on Jol's interview yesterday I think this is what it is ) I think this is a very good move.

I rate Frei very highly and a month or two of playing time at Cardiff should bring him on so that he can come back and be in the starting squad ( like Kaca at Watford last year )

Also being Welsh - very good for Cardiff.

However if season long with no recall clause I would be dead against . His future is in the Fulham 1st team and ideally this season .

[MJG]

Would have liked him to stay and be in every 18 man match squad to be honest, but if its just for a month and get fully up to fitness then fine.
I dont think it has anything to do with wages, transfer policy or Jol liking only the over 30's. More about having a 24 man squad and keeping them all match fit and happy.

Kaca has jumped ahead of Frei on the left but I see his position as more behind the striker(s) or given a good runout on the right.

[MJG]

reducing the wage bill with the type of transfers Jol has instigated?

You mean all those one year, fairly cheap contracts for the freebes we have picked up. Doubt if any of them are on over 10-15K to be honest.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

I cannot really see a downside here.

He is currently behind Kaca and Richardson for the left wing slot and behind Berbatov, Ruiz and Petric for the CAM slot and Duff and Dejagah for the RM slot. I can't really see an argument for him being played in front of any of these players in terms of making the team better.

He needs competitive games and a short term loan deal is perfect for this. Either he comes back and displaces someone due to his form or he extends his loan month by month to gain more experience. As others have said, look what it did for Kaca last season - from unknown commodity to first team player.

[os5889]

confirmed on BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20094104?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Fulham's Kerim Frei loaned to Cardiff City for a month

Cardiff City have signed Fulham's Kerim Frei on a month's loan.
The 18-year-old made 25 appearances after breaking into Fulham's team last season, but a pelvis injury has hampered his chances this term.
Winger Frei switched allegiance to Turkey in June and was named in the squad for August's friendly with Austria, the country of his birth.
Injuries to Craig Bellamy and Tommy Smith persuaded Cardiff boss Malky Mackay to seek cover.
Both players are expected to be out for "a couple of weeks" according to Mackay.
Cardiff need to complete the international clearance by midday on Friday for Frei to be available for Saturday's Championship game at home to Burnley.
The Bluebirds are currently level on points with Leicester at the top of the table, having set a new club record on Tuesday by winning six successive home games at the start of a season.

[MasterHaynes]

I think playing in a top championship side week in week out will aid his development, look what it did for Kaca. The  most interesting point in that article is that he needs international clearance as he is now designated as a turkish national currently outside of the EU. Will he live to regret the decision to play for Turkey instead of EU affiliated Switzerland? might be sooner rather than later if Cardiff do not receive clearance.

[os5889]

I think playing in a top championship side week in week out will aid his development, loook what it doi for Kaca. The  most interesting point in that article is that he needs international clearance as he now a designated as a turkich national currently outside of the EU. Will he live to regret the decision to play for Turkey instaed of EU affiliated Switzerland? might be sooner rather than  later if Cardiff do not receive clearance.

Only 1 month though, getting him fit for our christmas campaign I'd imagine

[White Noise]

What will be interesting is to see where Cardiff play him. They have got quite a good midfield at Cardiff, with Whittingham a forceful presence, but they are quite flexible with their formations. Frei will probably be a sub initially until match fitness is proven and he will certainly give them plenty of options coming off the bench.

Interesting to see the thoughts of the Cardiff fans -

http://www.ccmb.co.uk/fudforum/index.php?t=msg&th=339237&start=0&rid=0

http://www.cardiffcityforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=95524

[os5889]

Confirmed by Fulham on twitter as well

[Ordar]

Dont see how anyone can think this is a bad move. We have loads of cover out wide, and Frei has fallen behind Kaca in the wide man pecking order (not to mention the arrivals of the two other wide players). He's not going to get a game here so its good that he's going to a side chasing promotion.

Hopefully they will be able to find his best position, as I still dont know what that is. He doesnt seem a wide player, and isnt quite good enough to be a number 10. If he has a bit more physical presence (and could tackle and read the game a bit better) I'd be tempted to try him in CM in a Dembele-esque role.

[kevin]

good for frei and good for cardiff
no point in him sitting on the bench for us when he can be playing for a decent championship side