Cardiff City announce James Collins transfer as beaming Mick McCarthy explains exactly why he signed him
Wednesday 19th May 2021
The Bluebirds have made their first signing of the summer and it comes in the form of Republic of Ireland international striker James Collins
Collins was released by Luton Town, so City were able to pick him up as a Free agent.
The Bluebirds have moved quickly to announce the signing for the Republic of Ireland international, who is a free agent this summer after four years at Luton Town.
Collins will be 31 years old this year and the forward underwent a medical at Cardiff on Wednesday and was announced as a Bluebirds player later in the day.
Collins boasts a wealth of experience, having notched 181 career goals, and will bring some welcome experience to the Bluebirds forward line to complement Kieffer Moore.
JAMES COLLINS:
"I'm absolutely delighted," Collins, who has joined on a two-year deal, said after signing.
"To be here today to sign for this great club is a real honour and I can't wait to get going.
"I'm an honest player and I'll always work hard for the team. I like to link up play and I like to think my main attribute is scoring goals. That's what I love doing and hopefully I can score lots of them here."
Collins knows manager Mick McCarthy well. The Cardiff boss handed him his Ireland debut in 2019 and he has gone on to score twice in eight appearances for his country.
He is a player McCarthy has been tracking and the club have managed to swoop for him despite interest from Middlesbrough, Bristol City, Coventry City and Preston.
McCarthy's relationship with the player clearly played a part, but the encouraging thing for Cardiff fans is that he will suit the manager's style down to the ground.
And the Bluebirds boss spoke highly of Collins' schooling within the game as well as his "durable" style of play.
MICK McCARTHY:
"It's a really good signing for us," McCarthy said.
"He's been on an upward trajectory all his career, going from the lower leagues to the Championship and he's kept scoring goals.
"I like when they've come up the hard way, coming through the school of hard knocks to keep progressing and getting to a higher standard.
"He's ended up an international footballer through all of that and that's due to his hard work, diligence and ability to score goals.
"He's got a great scoring record. He's durable, he's tough and he'll be one of us. I'm delighted to have him."
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