West Brom could have Cardiff City's ideal Rubin Colwill replacement - they may try and repeat Cedric Kipre, Karlan Grant success | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at a potential replacement for Rubin Colwill at Cardiff City

Cardiff City should be resigned to the reality of losing Rubin Colwill at some stage, but the Welshman's eventual successor may not be too far away.

The 22-year-old is currently enjoying a long-awaited breakout season for the Bluebirds this time around. He's been one of a number of Cardiff players seemingly liberated by the interim appointment of Omer Riza, who has handed increased starts, faith and creative freedom to Colwill.

Colwill is a precocious, ultra-gifted attacking midfielder with a fairly unique footballing profile - his imposing 6'5" frame is at odds with the graceful, balletic elegance in which he invariably drifts past opposition defenders, combining his natural physical gifts with sublime close control to cement his reputation as one of the division's most exciting and productive ball-carrying midfielders.

Injuries, an unprecedented growth spurt and a lack of trust in youth from certain former managers have all previously counted against Colwill, who has had to bide his time patiently to assume the role of creative kingpin in this Cardiff side. Many supporters, including Wales manager Craig Bellamy, had expected more to come from Colwill by this stage of his career, but with three goals and three assists apiece to his name across all competitions thus far, coupled with consistently-impressive displays even when the goals aren't coming, mean it's better to look at what he's doing in the present.

Should other clubs decide to, the prospects of retaining his services will naturally become considerably slimmer. Colwill's profile makes him a highly-attractive proposition, the performances are now vindicating the potential and, at just 22, his footballing ceiling is undeniable.

A January exit perhaps isn't likely - though not impossible to rule out either - and a summer move seems more plausible, should Colwill continue to impress. It's inevitable that he'll leave at some point, though - and if he doesn't, then he hasn't delivered on his potential.

Should the Bluebirds already be scouting for replacements? It may feel premature for that just yet, but if Cardiff are looking to future-proof themselves by looking for Colwill's successor already, they could just find him not too far from the Welsh capital...

West Brom's Grady Diangana could be Cardiff City's Rubin Colwill replacement

Cardiff's heir to the throne, so to speak, could just come in the form of a familiar name at Championship level - West Bromwich Albion's Grady Diangana.

This is according to FBRef, which lists the Albion playmaker as the fourth-most similar individual to Colwill by measure of their respective statistical output over the last 365 days.

FBRef's comparative measurements span both last season and the current, but considering that we're just 15 matches into 24/25 and Diangana has started on just six occasions, it's wiser to analyse the previous campaign when comparing the two.

Colwill, who only started 14 games under Erol Bulut last season, often made his mark when on the pitch with his progressive ball-carrying qualities, which handed Cardiff a rare outlet to help open up opposition defences.

Colwill ranked among the most effective Championship attacking midfielders/wingers for passes into the final third, shot-creating actions and successful take-ons - three incredibly important metrics for players of his position.

Naturally, Diangana also fared extremely well last time out and usurped Colwill in departments such as progressive passes (84), progressive carries (76) and shot-creating actions (66). It's worth noting, though, that Diangana played more minutes and completed an average of 26.1 90s to Colwill's 17.7 - and the evidence suggests that the Wales international would've scored on top had he received the same opportunities.

Diangana's skillset is broadly similar, and he's also most at home when handed the creative license and freedom to drift into pockets of space, but also comes wide in a number 10 role, despite starting his career as more of a traditional winger. Diangana feels like something of a confidence player too - and you would definitely say that tag is applicable for Colwill, who can also blow hot and cold but proves devastating at full throttle.

Meanwhile, the other similar players to Colwill make for interesting reading. The most similar to Colwill, according to FBRef, is Stoke City's talented South Korean prospect Bae Junho, which is a glowing endorsement. You can definitely see the similarities, too.

Coincidentally enough, FBref have listed current Bluebirds attacker Chris Willock as the second-most similar player, something which Cardiff perhaps haven't seen for themselves just yet this term.

Further down, Juninho Bacuna - brother of ex-Bluebird Leandro - is also listed as a similar player, as is Sheffield Wednesday winger Djeidi Gassama.

Cardiff City should try and repeat recent West Brom history with Grady Diangana

Cardiff have gained something of a penchant for revitalising the fortunes of West Brom players in recent times. In came Cedric Kipre during the summer 2022 transfer window - a peripheral figure at the Hawthorns - and the central defender was an absolute colossus all year long, impressing equally with his imperious, steely defending and ability to spread the play with his diagonal passing range.

The Ivory Coast international had only made 14 appearances during the 2021/22 campaign for Albion, but played in all but four of Cardiff's 46 league matches the season after and returned to the West Midlands a revitalised figure. Kipre played in every single league fixture last time out and made a huge impression before joining Reims in Ligue 1 after his contract expired.

Cardiff were responsible for a second West Brom resurgence the season after by bringing in Karlan Grant on loan. Grant, who joined for the duration of the 2023/24 season, had been frozen out at West Brom and endured a frosty relationship with supporters amid a colossal drop-off in his form.

While he was unable to quite rekindle his goalscoring levels of old at Cardiff, he was a consistently solid force down the left-hand side. His speed in transition offered a dynamic threat, while Grant's positional awareness and defensive diligence helped Cardiff to maintain a rigid shape out-of-possession, a key call of duty under Bulut.

A long-term future for Grant back at Albion appeared off the cards, but he's since turned around his career at the club with a string of impressive, resurgent displays under Carlos Corberan. With Kipre and Grant having been redeemed, it now seems as though there's another player in need of a repair job in south Wales - and that's Diangana, of course.

West Brom have been competitive at the top-end of the table thus far, but the former West Ham starlet has failed to get off the ground and continue on from the previous season, where he scored seven goals and made eight assists in his most productive term for the Baggies.

Diangana has played just 526 minutes of football across 12 appearances - working out to 43 minutes a match. Less than half of those appearances have been starts, and he's became something of a bit-part player under Corberan.

He's low on confidence, lower on form and doesn't look like picking up for the Baggies anytime. It's hardly a ringing endorsement of his qualities, but he does look like a player in need of a fresh start and Cardiff could most certainly provide that. All he needs to do is look at Kipre and Grant - and Callum Robinson, even.