Cardiff set to sign Hertha striker Kanga on loan

Cardiff City are close to completing the loan signing of Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Kanga on a season-long deal.

The French-born 27-year-old is set to join from German Bundesliga 2 club Hertha BSC.

Kanga is due to have a medical on Monday evening in the Welsh capital.

Once the medical is completed, the player will have to apply for a visa, so a signing announcement could be delayed until the end of the week.

Kanga will be the Championship club's third recruit of the summer window, following the addition of former Queens Park Rangers forward Chris Willock and ex-Arsenal and Aston Villa defender Callum Chambers.

Cardiff are hopeful of adding further to their squad in the next few days.

Kanga is a product of the Paris Saint-Germain youth academy and played in Ligue Un with Angers and Turkish First Division club Kayserispor, before scoring 18 goals in 35 games for Bern-based Swiss club Young Boys, where he had Champions League and Uefa Conference League experience.

He joined Hertha on a four-year deal in July 2022 and last season was loaned out to Belgian club Standard Liege, scoring 12 goals in 32 appearances.

After earning one cap for Ivory Coast Under-20s, Kanga then played for the France equivalent before making his senior international debut for the Ivorians in 2022 in a friendly against Toga, earning a second cap against Guinea

Though Kanga can play in a wide berth, it is expected that Cardiff manager Erol Bulut will use the 6ft 2in player as a centre forward.

Bulut has targeted a central striker as a priority in the summer transfer window.

Cardiff drew 1-1 with Hertha in a pre-season friendly last Thursday but Kanga did not feature for the Berlin side.

The Bluebirds continue their pre-season build-up on Wednesday with a friendly against Reading at the Cardiff City Stadium.