Moving Target – Steven Caulker

Cardiff boss Malky Mackay made his fourth foray into the summer transfer market yesterday afternoon with the acquisition of Steven Caulker from Tottenham. The 21-year-old centre-half joins the Bluebirds on a four-year contract for a reported club record fee of £8m and follows Andreas Cornelius, John Brayford and Simon Moore to the Cardiff City Stadium as Mackay strengthens his squad after last year’s Championship-winning campaign.

The deal represents something of a coup for the Welsh outfit – Caulker was linked with a move to Liverpool, with former Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers interested, while the departure of William Gallas from White Hart Lane had suggested he could be pushing for regular game time under Andre Villas-Boas in the season ahead. In an interview with the club’s official website, the defender went on to say:

“First and foremost I want to say how happy I am to have signed with Cardiff City Football Club. I’m delighted to be here and excited for this fresh challenge. I spoke to the Gaffer yesterday, liked what he had to say and am excited about the plans he has for the Football Club. You get the sense of excitement from everybody at the Club in the build-up to the season’s kick-off at West Ham and I’m really looking forward to being part of it. I thank Tottenham for everything they’ve done for me, having been there since I was a kid. But I’m here to back myself up now and show what I can do. This is a fresh start, a new chapter and I’m here to kick on.”

The History

A product of the Tottenham youth academy, Caulker’s career started back in 2009, when, over a season-long loan, he made 44 appearances and produced a pair of assists at Yeovil Town. The following year he was farmed out temporarily once again, producing two goals and a couple of assists over 29 appearances for Bristol City, winning the club’s Young Player of the Year award.

In 2011/12, Caulker was again sent out on loan but this time he remained within the confines of the top-flight, moving to newly-promoted Swansea. His game time was somewhat curtailed at the Liberty due to a knee injury, though the centre-half still managed 26 first-team appearances and provided a single assist during his time under Rodgers. With Younes Kaboul picking up a long-term knee injury in Gameweek 1 last year, Caulker was retained by Villas-Boas in his debut campaign at the helm and was afforded 17 starts and one sub appearance for the north London outfit, returning two goals and a pair of assists.

On the international stage, the centre-half has turned out for England Under 19 and Under 21s a total of 18 times, finding the net twice, and has scored in his only appearance for the senior side, netting in a 4-2 friendly defeat by Sweden last November.

The Prospects

While his installation at the heart of the Bluebirds back-four will certainly afford Caulker a far greater security of starts at Cardiff, his comparatively costlier price tag across most Fantasy games is a real deterrent. Initially listed as a Tottenham player in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), he comes in at 5.0 – less budget-friendly than any other likely starter in Mackay’s defence; Andrew Taylor, Mark Hudson and David Marshall are all 4.5, while fellow new boy Brayford is expected to mirror the trio’s cost. Caulker’s arrival raises real question marks over 4.0 priced Ben Turner’s place in the XI given that Hudson, as the club captain, should retain his starting role alongside the former Tottenham man.

Granted, the Bluebirds arrive with the best clean sheet record (18) of the three promoted teams and Caulker’s presence at the back is a real boost but with cheaper or similarly priced options offering greater defensive potential elsewhere, he’s likely to struggle to pick up any FPL suitors. In the Sky Sports game, though, the price is less of an issue – he comes in at 5.2 to Hudson’s 5.0, though a cost of 2.5 in The Sun Dream Team, compared to Hudson and Taylor at 1.0, is again likely to ensure he remains off the radar.

From a Tottenham perspective, Caulker’s departure now leaves just Younes Kaboul and Michael Dawson to battle it out for the role as Jan Vertonghen’s central defensive partner. Both come in at 5.0 in FPL and have the potential to afford us a decent value option – with Vertonghen struggling to shake off an ankle injury in time for the start of the new season, the duo could well be set to take their place for the Gameweek 1 trip to Palace and allow Villas-Boas to assess their respective form. Factor in a strong run of fixtures which sees Spurs face just two of last season’s top six in the first nine Gameweeks (cpl, SWA, ars, NOR, car, CHE, WHM, avl, HUL) and it’s clear that the Tottenham pair could barely be afforded a kinder platform to stake a case for consideration as the north London club look to push on from last term’s fifth place finish.

Further Reference

Steven Caulker Wikipedia

Steven Caulker Transfer Markt Page