Cardiff City transfer plans ahead of rebuilding season in League One

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Cardiff City are preparing for a major rebuild ahead of their League One campaign. Following relegation, the club is expected to reshape the squad with a focus on younger talent and key additions in midfield and defence. Outgoings are also likely as they trim the wage bill.  The board aims to back the manager with smart signings to push for an immediate return to the Championship.

Transcript

00:00Well, Cardiff City certainly aren't where they'd want to be, sight languishing in League

00:071. They are, of course, a club who was relegated from the Championship last season following

00:12a very disappointing end to the campaign under, of course, club legend Aaron Ramsey. But

00:17a lot of the poor games and poor results had happened previously under Umariza as well

00:22when he was in charge of the club. And as painful as that is, Cardiff City have to move

00:27on because now we are in the midst of summer and the transfer window is open for the Bluebirds

00:32and they must get their squad ready and prepared for the upcoming League 1 season, which of

00:37course gets underway in mid-August. So it's time now to look at who the Bluebirds are targeting

00:42in this transfer window ahead of their League 1 campaign. So let's go now to our Wales sports

00:49correspondent, Charles Hague-Jones. Charles, who are Cardiff City targeting? Who do they

00:54want to bring in to their squad to make sure that their League 1 campaign is as successful

01:00as it can be? And sort of what will the transfers, who they do bring in, what will they tell us

01:04about what Cardiff City's aims are next season as well? Obviously, I think it's quite obvious

01:09they'll want a goal scorer. They'll want guaranteed goals in League 1. You know, no matter what

01:14level of football you're in, you'll want a guaranteed goal scorer. Do they actually need

01:17strength in depth across the pitch as well? Because, of course, there was such disappointment

01:22in such poor standards last season that they may want something of a reset at the club and

01:27for lots of new transfers to come in. So who are they targeting? Goal scorer, you'd imagine.

01:31But what else is needed at the club to make sure that their League 1 campaign is as good

01:35as it can be and that they are at least in the mix of promotion, despite what their targets

01:41internally may be? Yes, obviously, for Cardiff City, a new boss coming in, Brian Barry Murphy,

01:49he's sort of reassessed the pre-planned transfer strategy, which is shifting away from previous

01:54recruitment plans to a more structured one suited to League 1 and the goals that they have.

02:01You know, the club has already seen a mass exodus. You know, veterans like Aaron Ramsey,

02:05Joe Rawls, Yaku Miete, there's others as well released or sold. So you feel it's a bit of a

02:12clear out and I think that's certainly what Cardiff City needed. You know, you obviously touched on it

02:18there, the disappointment, the disarray of relegation from the Championship to League 1 is massive.

02:23But in the past, we have seen many, many teams sort of bounce back from it. You know,

02:29personal to me, obviously, the Birmingham region, Birmingham City did it last season. They were

02:34incredible at it, bouncing back, winning the league with 111 points, an EFL record as well.

02:41Wolves as well, their neighbours in the West Midlands, they went down at a complete reset

02:47and then came up as champions as well and sort of went on. And now they're obviously in the Premier

02:51League as well. So, you know, football's a very fickle, a very changing game and hopefully Cardiff City

02:57can find that as well. The mass exodus has already happened. There's been a few loan out moves as well.

03:04In terms of the forwards, you know, getting rid of a few players as well. And there has been a few

03:11warning signs, of course. Low profile signings to date may reflect budget caution, which obviously

03:16Vincent Tan has been very transparent as of recent. You know, there was some massive disappointment from

03:22Cardiff City fans and the supporters just throughout last season with the miscommunication and

03:27misunderstanding of what was going on behind the scenes. But Barry Murphy has clearly got a plan. He's

03:33clearly taking an understanding to this role at Cardiff City and wants to make sure that he is

03:38completely in charge and feeling where they are going with it. You know, firstly, you've got to

03:46look at the wage bill. There's got to be reduced, they have to reduce that. They have to make sure

03:52they've obviously released experience figures like Aaron Ramsey, like Joe Rawls, who were on

03:58significant wages. And that's going to help Cardiff City tenfold in terms of making sure

04:04that they are competitive in League One and that they don't have that sort of hanging over them

04:08anymore. They need to make sure it's a fresh start. There's going to be, I think, we have to expect

04:15an influx of young loanies and free transfers as well. Very exciting time for a Cardiff City fan.

04:21They are a bit of nervousness as well in there because, you know, you really don't want to

04:27remain down in League One. You want to make sure you enjoy the ride and you come right back up at

04:32the first time of asking. And I feel this summer window is massive for that. But Barry Murphy seems

04:38like he knows where he's heading with it and hopefully the outcome is positive.

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