Cardiff City closing in on Nottingham Forest transfer agreement | OneFootball

Cardiff City have heavily bolstered their attacking unit this summer, and it is about to get even stronger.

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According to WalesOnline, the Bluebirds are set to sign Nottingham Forest winger Josh Bowler on a loan deal until the end of the 2023-24 season.

And the 24-year-old will join other new faces such as Yakou Meite, Ike Ugbo and Karlan Grant who have arrived this summer to give head coach Erol Bulut new options to pick from when it comes to selecting his starting 11.

Bowler signed for Forest last year in a deadline day move from Blackpool, but he was immediately loaned out to Olympiakos of Greece for the rest of the 2022-23 season, with both clubs owned by Evangelos Marinakis.

The winger was recalled though after just seven appearances and sent back to the Seasiders in January until the end of the season, where he played a further 18 times to add to the seven outings he made at the start of the season, scoring four goals overall.

He will now face a fresh challenge in South Wales though as Cardiff look to become a play-off chasing team led by new head coach Bulut and returning midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

After passing through the academies of Fulham and Aldershot Town, Bowler ended up at Queens Park Rangers in 2013 and then turned professional four years later at Loftus Road.

Following his debut for the R's though in 2017 as an 18-year-old, Bowler was quickly snapped up by Everton on a three-year contract just months after signing his first deal at the Londoners.

Bowler never made a first-team appearance for Everton though in his four years contracted to the Toffees, instead playing in their under-21's and going out on loan, with his first move being Hull City in 2019, scoring just the once for the Tigers in 31 appearances.

The winger returned to Everton in 2020 for a year and then in 2021 signed a permanent deal with Blackpool on a free transfer, a place where he eventually flourished.

Bowler scored eight goals in his debut season for the Tangerines in 45 appearances, with his performances in 2021-22 and at the start of the following season eventually leading to Forest making their move on deadline day in September for a fee of around £2 million.

He is unlikely to be considered at Forest though whilst they remain in the Premier League, so after last year's stints in Greece and at Bloomfield Road again, he will now have a fresh start - albeit a temporary one - at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Where will Josh Bowler fit in at Cardiff?

Cardiff now seemingly have a lot of attacking options to pick from in Bulut's favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.

Ideally, Bowler would be cutting in off the right onto his stronger left foot, and that is a player that perhaps the Bluebirds have been missing with just Sheyi Ojo really able to do that.

Kion Etete, Ugbo and Meite will perhaps be battling for the central striker role whilst Grant and Callum Robinson will be the two that will be best suited on the opposite flank to Bowler, so Bulut has no excuses now as he has a lot of players to choose from in the final third.