In attack, Cardiff currently have James Collins, Rubin Colwill, Isaak Davies, Max Watters and Mark Harris. There appears to be a difference of opinion between him and Morison in terms of his best position, with Sang favouring right-wing back, which is now an oversubscribed role, and Morison seeing him operating centrally, where there is now far more scope for playing time. I also hope a place can be found for Sang, who is a player with plenty of potential. It appears both parties want to strike a deal, but they appear no closer to a resolution than they were several months ago. With Marlon Pack, Aden Flint and Will Vaulks all leaving, there appears to be a leadership void he would help fill. It is a shame Joe Ralls remains in limbo because Cardiff could certainly do with his experience and influence in midfield.
O’Dowda, Whyte and Tanner finally offer some options if Cardiff decide to play with wingers, while Ryan Wintle, Eli King and Adams are central options. Mark McGuinness, Curtis Nelson and Oliver Denham join Ng, possibly Bagan and down the line, maybe Sean Morrison, in the heart of the defence. Both have very big boots to fill if they’re to emulate the impact Cody Drameh had last season. Daley-Campbell and Romeo look set to fight it out on the right side of the defence, which means that Perry Ng’s immediate future appears to be in central defence and talented prospect Jai Semenyo may in turn leave on loan to gain experience. Jamilu Collins and O’Dowda can both play left-wing back, so you wonder what the future holds for Joel Bagan, who can also play as a left-sided centre-back. His contract expires next summer, so Cardiff may use the opportunity to cash in on him while they still can, or loan him out until his deal ends. Two new goalkeepers have arrived, so you can’t help but feel that Dillon Phillips’ days may now be numbered. When you look at the squad as a whole, there is plenty of strength in depth in most areas. You feel like such a vast turnover of staff will therefore either be the making of Cardiff or their undoing.Ĭardiff’s budget meant they were fishing in new waters and it remains to be seen whether the new players will represent an upgrade, but there is no doubting the squad had become stale, so a revolution was both enforced and necessary. Many of the players who have arrived will be relatively unknown to your typical Cardiff supporter, which is both exciting and slightly terrifying. READ MORE: Three priority positions identified and youngster poised for loan switch His goal was to get as many in as possible and he has certainly succeeded in that regard. Once his appointment had been made permanent, his focus then became more long term and he spent the last few weeks of last season already looking ahead to pre-season. When Morison was managing on an interim basis, he was very much concerned with the here and now, not looking too far ahead.
Gavin Whyte, Tom Sang and Kieron Evans ( who is set to go out on loan to Yeovil ) also return to a refreshed group and Steve Morison has done remarkably well to get so many players in at a time when most have unplugged and disappeared on holiday. Ollie Tanner, Mahlon Romeo, Ebou Adams, Ryan Allsop, Jak Alnwick, Jamilu Collins, Vontae Daley-Campbell and Callum O’Dowda will all be present and correct, with as many players heading in the opposite direction. Cardiff City return to pre-season training on Wednesday and the squad is largely unrecognisable from last year.