Naturally, clubs nearly always try to avoid letting too many players leave, which is undoubtedly the case with Cardiff, due to the difficult task of rebuilding and filling vacancies in the middle of the season.
During the summer transfer window, the Bluebirds made some headway by sending a number of players on loan and getting rid of those who weren’t needed.The most prominent summertime departure was Mark McGuinness, who reputedly paid up to £10 million to join Championship rivals Luton Town. Although Cardiff will be aiming to stave off any prospective interest of that kind, collecting an eight-figure fee indicated profit and undeniable achievement for the team. Rubin Colwill might even have a few admirers.
We are not simply exploring permanent departures here – indeed, the likelihood is that the majority of Cardiff’s potential January exits, if they are made at all, will be done on a temporary basis.
Cian Ashford is an example of that, and while there has been no talk of him heading out on loan, gaining further first-team experience away from Cardiff may prove the best port of call right now.
The 20-year-old burst on to the scene toward the back-end of last season, bagging his first professional goal in spectacular fashion by scoring a 95th-minute winner against Russell Martin’s Southampton in front of the Canton Stand.
But following the arrivals of Anwar El Ghazi and Chris Willock, regular opportunities have proved largely elusive and you would hardly expect him to force his way into real contention anytime soon.
The scenario is by no means a slight on Ashford, who undoubtedly has exciting young potential and showed tangible signs of what could be to come earlier this year. But with opportunities clearly hard to come by, a loan move in January could and probably should be made.
Kion Etete
Kion Etete’s future at Cardiff is uncertain in the meantime.
After joining the Bluebirds from Tottenham Hotspur in 2022, he signed a three-year contract that is almost up, and there is now little reason to believe Cardiff should prolong his stay.
There are good reasons why Etete has supporters among the fan base. The 22-year-old has occasionally shown genuine promise, and this Cardiff assault definitely benefits from his link-up play when he leads the line.
However, the truth is that we haven’t witnessed enough of that. He has had a lot of bad luck with injuries and general teething issues adjusting to the Championship. Not to mention that he was forced to eat scraps for far too long, like every other Cardiff forward, because the team lacked creativity for a significant portion of his tenure, but the goals have not flowed when given opportunities.
| Kion Etete’s Championship stats for Cardiff City across all competitions, as per FotMob | ||||
| Season | Appearances | Starts | Goals | Assists |
| 2022/23 | 28 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| 2023/24 | 28 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 56 | 24 | 6 | 1 |
Etete probably could not have believed his luck when he was ruled out of the first three months of the season just a week before its initiation back at the start of August with a hamstring injury, with Cardiff’s forward options considerably light there and then.
Isaak Davies, of course, has also been a long-term absentee and Wilfried Kanga has thus far flattered to deceive, and had Etete not picked up that unfortunate injury, only Callum Robinson would have been standing in his way.
Davies will also be back before long, though, and you would likely expect Cardiff to be in the market for another striker in January.
Just where that leaves Etete is yet to be seen. Although his contract is up in the summer, it is not wholly uncommon for clubs to sign players with six months left on their deal at a discounted price – as Cardiff did with David Turnbull from Celtic at the start of the year.
Alternatively, a short-term loan move could be a potential option to explore, handing Cardiff the opportunity to carefully assess his progression before arriving at a decision.
This is all hypothetical, though, for the time being at least. Etete does not necessarily appear primed to leave, but equally, it’s hard to completely rule out an exit.
Michael Reindorf
Lastly, in what would doubtless be a loan departure in any case, Michael Reindorf would also reap the rewards of obtaining senior football experience elsewhere if he continues to be overlooked for first-team contention.
Reindorf only joined Cardiff this summer from Norwich City, but he has burned brightly both at academy level and for the senior side when entrusted with opportunity in the EFL Cup, leaving supporters demanding to see him on a more consistent basis while wondering why the Canaries decided to part ways in the first place.
The early evidence is that Reindorf looks ferociously talented, albeit – and naturally – a bit raw. Nonetheless, he brings endearing and integral qualities with his willingness to lead the press and chase lost causes.
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Supporters are desperate to see him handed a spot in the matchday squad over the aforementioned Kanga but, for one reason or another, both Erol Bulut and Omer Riza have not subscribed to that school of thought.
But like Ashford, Reindorf is gifted with a high footballing ceiling and Cardiff should know as much, meaning a loan departure in January may provide the best course of action for his immediate development.
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