BREAKING: " CARDIFF CITY TO SIGN UP TO 15 PLAYERS "

Cardiff City to sign up to 15 new players in transfer window

Steve Morison has the task of getting the best bargains out there.


Up front, again, there are Isaak Davies, Max Watters and Mark Harris all vying for the strikers position.


The Bluebirds have already started work behind the scenes on formulating their squad for next season and it will be one of the biggest summers the club have had in some time

Steve Morison will have a very low budget, but he will be able to sign loan players and free agents.

Their is also a wage cap of £12,000 a week.


Tommy Doyle is also one which is not at all a damp squib. However, he could look to join a club with more feasible promotion credentials next term.




By Glen Williams (Junior Reporter )


Wednesday 20th April 2022






Cardiff City have a big job on their hands in the transfer window this summer


Cardiff City's summer promises to be an exciting ride, from an onlooker's perspective. The door will be revolving in and out so much that next season's starting XI will bear little to no resemblance to the one which started this campaign.

Given how this season began, many will view that as a positive. Things need freshening up and the upcoming window presents Cardiff with the biggest opportunity they have had in quite some time to do just that.

As a minimum, it is understood the club are looking to bring in 10 players. Should more players leave, it could be as many as 15. That is the size of the task at hand, but it is one which the club view as an opportunity to change their future for the better.

Cardiff have been hamstrung by exorbitant wages, lengthy contracts and dwindling player values for too long and the next few months will go some way to trying to alter that and drag up both the club's value and their positioning in the Championship table.

There are 10 first-team players out of contract in June. The club are keen to keep hold of Joe Ralls, while talks are still ongoing regarding Sean Morrison's future. As for the other eight, well, it could be that they all leave for pastures new.

There has been talk in some circles of a wage cap being implemented at Cardiff from next season onwards, but it is understood they are working on an average wage structure. There is a figure Cardiff want all their first-team players' contracts to average out at, meaning if one player is offered a particularly high wage then it would affect the players on the lower end of the scale, with less scope to offer them more money.

That is the sort of predicament Cardiff find themselves in at the minute as they look to slash outgoings on wages. It looks likely that the wages of Ciaron Brown, Isaac Vassell, Alex Smithies, Aden Flint, Will Vaulks, Josh Murphy, Leandro Bacuna and Marlon Pack - all of whom were signed by Neil Warnock on largely favourable terms - will be off the bill come the end of the season.


And that might not be the end of the outgoings, either. Some players might not fit what Steve Morison and his coaching staff want to implement next season. James Collins is someone who might want to look for a club which is a better fit, given the changes which have been implemented since Mick McCarthy's departure. Collins has barely had a look-in after a poor start to the season and with Cardiff keen to add more forwards in the summer window, he might be one who moves on.

Gavin Whyte will come back from his loan at Oxford United, where he has enjoyed bright spells throughout the League One campaign. But he was signed on hefty money, too, when he joined from the League One club in 2019 and it is unlikely Cardiff will be able to keep forking out his wages when they are playing such a delicate balancing act elsewhere in the squad. If there is interest, Cardiff would have to entertain it.

Up front, again, there are Isaak Davies, Max Watters and Mark Harris all vying for one spot, with the general feeling being they would all have to play alongside a more physical type of striker to get the best out of them. Davies has enjoyed a breakthrough year, while the club paid a decent fee for Watters, so one would expect he will be given a sustained shot at some point to prove his worth. Harris' output will have to improve if he is to really muscle his way into the picture.

On the recruitment front, Cardiff need bodies all over the pitch; goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders, wingers and forwards. Ryan Allsop at Derby County is someone who Cardiff have held an interest in, however it is understood there is fierce competition across the division for the shot stopper. Reports linking Millwall's Jed Wallace and Fulham's Michael Hector to the Bluebirds have not been given much credence by Cardiff sources. Wallace's current wages are way above what Cardiff would be willing to offer, anyway, and he, too, has suitors all over the Championship.

How Cardiff handle the loan market in the coming months will be interesting to follow. It's where they did their best work in the January transfer window.


We are told both Tommy Doyle and Cody Drameh are ongoing conversations, although Cardiff know there is interest in both. Bournemouth, it is understood, are just one club who are known to have already enquired about them and the wages they would be willing to offer, as an example, could blow Cardiff out of the water.

Drameh has made his feelings clear to Cardiff, though. If he is not guaranteed regular game time at Leeds United then he would be keen to countenance a move back to the Welsh capital. Leeds will likely want to keep hold of him for pre-season to assess him and Cardiff might not want to get into a similar situation that they had with Ryan Giles towards the back end of the January window. But Drameh has loved his time at City and if he felt it would be for the betterment of his career to have another year of regular football at Cardiff under his belt then he has shown he is headstrong enough to make that decision.


Doyle is also one which is not at all a damp squib. However, he could look to join a club with more feasible promotion credentials next term.

What is positive from a Cardiff perspective, though, is that their relationship with Manchester City has strengthened immensely over the last few months thanks to Doyle's development. Cardiff have already been steered towards the next cabs off the rank, so to speak, at Manchester City, who want to get some of their more promising talents out playing Championship football next term. It is understood a couple have even been players coming in from abroad to join the Premier League outfit this summer.

Cardiff have meetings lined up with Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City in the next two weeks. They are also broadening their horizons to snare what they deem the best bargains out there. Their scouting will go from top-end Premier League teams to the Championship and right down to Non-League. They will even look abroad in the European market, which you can read more about here.




It's a huge rebuild but one with the idea of making the club more sustainable, as well as competitive, as it moves forward. There is no overstating the sheer size of the transfer task at hand but if this summer goes according to plan then the club will be left in a far better place for it.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Much needed overhaul, next season we will need a lot of patience while the club and new players adapt

I always thought that this 12k figure is no more than an educated guess.The way this journo reports it to me seems that there's lot of room for manoeuvre.

I always thought that this 12k figure is no more than an educated guess.The way this journo reports it to me seems that there's lot of room for manoeuvre.

I have said this all along

Lets hope they look abroad like when we picked up camarasse
Granted we where playing real betis in a friendly but a bit of continental flare may help
and with the whole of europe far east asia africa south america etc to choose from where i am sure we could pick up a bargain or 2 even doyle was in germany last season so plenty out there

I always thought that this 12k figure is no more than an educated guess.The way this journo reports it to me seems that there's lot of room for manoeuvre.

Agreed and makes obvious business sense. It's more a matter of "here's your wages budget, just make sure the bottom line figure balances with that". A £12k average wage seems pretty healthy to me.

Basically means you could pay Player A £24k a week and Players B & C £6k a week each and you still pay out £36K at an average of £12k.

I would guess that £6k per week is around the mark a first or second season first team squad youngster would expect ?

Certainly encouraging that plans are already in motion to get, at least, some business done early on. Although I'm guessing we'll be waiting right up until the end of the Prem window before we can finalise everything as the Prem clubs won't loan out players until they know what they've got.

I’m guessing contract renewals would be considered in this 10-15 signed players? I wouldn’t be surprised if we kept at least 3 of the out of contract players.

Who is doing all the scouting around the World?

We have a young coach who has been promoted due to his boss being sacked in his first half season or Management, this would be a a hell of a task even for a season veteran!

I always thought that this 12k figure is no more than an educated guess.The way this journo reports it to me seems that there's lot of room for manoeuvre.

Agreed and makes obvious business sense. It's more a matter of "here's your wages budget, just make sure the bottom line figure balances with that". A £12k average wage seems pretty healthy to me.

Basically means you could pay Player A £24k a week and Players B & C £6k a week each and you still pay out £36K at an average of £12k.

I would guess that £6k per week is around the mark a first or second season first team squad youngster would expect ?

Certainly encouraging that plans are already in motion to get, at least, some business done early on. Although I'm guessing we'll be waiting right up until the end of the Prem window before we can finalise everything as the Prem clubs won't loan out players until they know what they've got.

Agree that an average salary of £12k per week is a very healthy for a Championship team! According to the Internet Huddersfield FC highest salary is £9k/week and Luton is £8k and yet both are in playoffs!

Exciting isn't it......

This recruitment team haven't bought a dog (yet), maybe Watters hasn't worked but i reckon we'll get our money back but i am quite confident.

Mahlon Romeo was on the radar a few weeks ago, i'd love to start with him and Jed Wallace, both super solid at this level.

It must open up loads of avenues not having to buy from one agent

Last time we had a rebuild of this size we went on to win the title under Malky. Excited to seeing a new vibrant CCFC next season

Said it under another post but:

We’ll be fine by the start of the season. He clearly knows how to work the transfer market and brings in players who fit how he wants to play, rather than trying to force players to adjust to his style e.g. Warnock with Glatzel.

He wanted attacking wingbacks for his back 5 so he brought in Drameh and Doughty. He wanted a midfielder with some quality on the ball to try and implement a more passing approach so he brought in Doyle. He wanted strikers that will press and keep pressure on the opposition defence so he brought in Uche and Hugill.

People need to relax, accept that now we’re safe this season is a write-off and just look forward to next season knowing that with so many outgoings this summer he’ll be able to shape the squad how he sees fit

I always thought that this 12k figure is no more than an educated guess.The way this journo reports it to me seems that there's lot of room for manoeuvre.

Agreed and makes obvious business sense. It's more a matter of "here's your wages budget, just make sure the bottom line figure balances with that". A £12k average wage seems pretty healthy to me.

Basically means you could pay Player A £24k a week and Players B & C £6k a week each and you still pay out £36K at an average of £12k.

I would guess that £6k per week is around the mark a first or second season first team squad youngster would expect ?

Certainly encouraging that plans are already in motion to get, at least, some business done early on. Although I'm guessing we'll be waiting right up until the end of the Prem window before we can finalise everything as the Prem clubs won't loan out players until they know what they've got.

Agree that an average salary of £12k per week is a very healthy for a Championship team! According to the Internet Huddersfield FC highest salary is £9k/week and Luton is £8k and yet both are in playoffs!

I agree 12k is a lot but its the opposite of healthy its suicidal without parachute payments! If you are paying an average of £12k a week to a first team squad of say 20 players, that's nearly 13 million a year. And thats without paying manager, coach fringe players and the u23. Add on admin staff, Directors etc and there wont be much short of 20 million. And that's just wages. Gate income rarely exceeds 5 million.

I always thought that this 12k figure is no more than an educated guess.The way this journo reports it to me seems that there's lot of room for manoeuvre.

Agreed and makes obvious business sense. It's more a matter of "here's your wages budget, just make sure the bottom line figure balances with that". A £12k average wage seems pretty healthy to me.

Basically means you could pay Player A £24k a week and Players B & C £6k a week each and you still pay out £36K at an average of £12k.

I would guess that £6k per week is around the mark a first or second season first team squad youngster would expect ?

Certainly encouraging that plans are already in motion to get, at least, some business done early on. Although I'm guessing we'll be waiting right up until the end of the Prem window before we can finalise everything as the Prem clubs won't loan out players until they know what they've got.

Agree that an average salary of £12k per week is a very healthy for a Championship team! According to the Internet Huddersfield FC highest salary is £9k/week and Luton is £8k and yet both are in playoffs!

I agree 12k is a lot but its the opposite of healthy its suicidal without parachute payments! If you are paying an average of £12k a week to a first team squad of say 20 players, that's nearly 13 million a year. And thats without paying manager, coach fringe players and the u23. Add on admin staff, Directors etc and there wont be much short of 20 million. And that's just wages. Gate income rarely exceeds 5 million.

The numbers involved in keeping a Championship team afloat, never mind in contention, are scary.

However, whilst gate receipts are a pretty small in comparison, you do have to factor in TV receipts and sponsorship.

The main thing about these figures is that it does demonstrate that there are a number of clubs that are really flirting with FFP sanctions and will not be able to "spend big" in the summer.

It was interesting to read Eddie Howe at Newcastle actually saying the whilst Newcastle are in a great position financially they can't risk overspending as they may also face sanctions so even they have to work within that constraint (I think it's slightly different for Prem clubs but there in some form).

Said it under another post but:

We’ll be fine by the start of the season. He clearly knows how to work the transfer market and brings in players who fit how he wants to play, rather than trying to force players to adjust to his style e.g. Warnock with Glatzel.

He wanted attacking wingbacks for his back 5 so he brought in Drameh and Doughty. He wanted a midfielder with some quality on the ball to try and implement a more passing approach so he brought in Doyle. He wanted strikers that will press and keep pressure on the opposition defence so he brought in Uche and Hugill.

People need to relax, accept that now we’re safe this season is a write-off and just look forward to next season knowing that with so many outgoings this summer he’ll be able to shape the squad how he sees fit

Good post. Like you I believe he will be bringing in players to do a specific job, not trying to fit square pegs into round holes, as has been the the case with our most recent 'experienced' managers.

If the January window is a sign of what we can expect for next season, I'm quite excited by the prospect.

Last time we had a rebuild of this size we went on to win the title under Malky. Excited to seeing a new vibrant CCFC next season

Spot On - And did he do well