Former Tottenham Hotspur starlet Kion Etete is finally hitting the goal trail again for Cardiff City with the one-time Premier League teen ending a 21-game goal drought in the Championship.
It was a good weekend for a whole handful of young players with connections to Tottenham Hotspur.
Matty Craig, the Scotland under-21 international on loan at Doncaster Rovers from the London giants, was tipped to have a ‘top career’ in the game after shining in defensive midfielder during Saturday’s 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon.
Japhet Tanganga scored his first ever senior goal and then cleared one off the line two divisions above, colossal at either end as relegation-threatened Millwall turned the Championship table upside down at Southampton.
Lucas Bergvall, meanwhile, went some way to explaining those ‘Swedish Messi’ comparisons as he tore Nordic United limb from limb in the cup, the £8.5 million Djurgardens wonderkid on his way to Tottenham in the summer.
Former Tottenham Hotspur man finally ends goal drought
Where Kion Etete will be playing his trade come next season, however, is anyone’s guess. The striker’s Cardiff City contract expires in just over 12 months’ time. And, in truth, he certainly could have done more in the last five months to suggest he deserves a new one.
Etete, who spent three years at Spurs before joining Cardiff for £500,000 back in 2022, had gone 21 games without a goal between late-September and the final weekend of February. A rare strike during Saturday’s 2-1 triumph over Stoke City, then, will have hit the former Notts County like a tidal wave of relief.
With six goals in 31 games – and following five months without one – Etete has not had too much to celebrate this term. This is, however, still the most prolific season of the 22-year-old’s career, with the Cardiff number nine keen to continue developing his game as he looks to add a more consistent streak to his performances.
Kion Etete is ‘bound to improve’
“It’s been a long time coming,” Etete told the Bluebirds website after his lengthy drought came to an end after just five minutes versus Stoke. “It felt good to finally get a goal again and to get back going. It’s been tough for us really, getting opportunities and chances, but we really dug deep today.
“I think it’s a case of just keeping doing what I do, and the goals will come. That’s what the gaffer (Erol Bulut) and all the coaches keep saying to me. ‘Keep playing well and keep working hard’.
“We are working on stuff every day really. So I am bound to improve season on season, game after game.”
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