Cardiff City

Chris Wathan
BBC Sport Wales

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Cardiff City may have lost their man - but they certainly got their price after agreeing to let Mark McGuinness leave for Luton Town.

The 23-year-old centre-back completed his move to Kenilworth Road with the player said to be keen for a new challenge.

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut had stated the player would only be allowed to go if Luton matched the club's valuation.

And although the deal was officially undisclosed by both parties, it is understood the fee could be worth up to the £10m price-tag the Bluebirds placed on McGuinness' head.

That will include add-ons on top of a lower initial fee but, regardless, it means McGuinness has shot into the top 10 of Cardiff's record departures.

The biggest fee received by the Bluebirds stands at around £10m, with both Gary Medel's 2014 move to Inter Milan and Bobby De Cordova-Reid's 2019 switch to Fulham reportedly hitting that figure.

Steven Caulker's 2014 exit in a £8.5m move to QPR is also high up the list, with Kenneth Zohore's £8m move to West Brom in 2019 just behind.

Midfielder Jordon Mutch's move to QPR in 2014 was valued at £6m, with the £5m sales of Roger Johnson to Birmingham in 2009 and Michael Chopra to Sunderland in 2007 next up.

Now back at the club, Aaron Ramsey's first spell with the Bluebirds ended in 2008 when Arsenal agreed to pay £5m for the then teenager, a fee eventually reduced to £4.8m when the Gunners offered to pay a greater sum up front.

Back in 2004, Robert Earnshaw became what was then Cardiff's record sale when the goalscoring hero was sold to Premier League West Brom for £3.5m.

Not all fees were formally disclosed, meaning it becomes increasingly difficult to officially rank Cardiff's big-money departures.

But it is clear that McGuinness' move places him among the club's record sales.

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Former striker Robert Earnshaw is "worried" about Cardiff City ahead of Sunday's south Wales derby away to Swansea City.

The Bluebirds fan-favourite says manager Erol Bulut will be feeling the pressure heading into the clash with their rivals.

Following their 5-0 loss to Burnley last Saturday, Cardiff sit bottom of the Championship, still awaiting their first point.

Earnshaw acknowledged that performances in the opening two fixtures have been "nowhere near where the standard [they] should be".

The former Wales international, who made more than 200 appearances for the Bluebirds, told Radio Wales Breakfast: "Two games in it is still early, but this is not how you prepare for a south Wales derby; this is one of your biggest games of the season.

"I’m a little bit nervous for Cardiff because those two games against Sunderland and Burnley were tough - but that’s nowhere near where the standard should be.

"I believe that they can change it around, but I’m worried because 5-0 last weekend was so devastating for them, and this weekend you’ve got to be ready to get flying again, you’ve got to perform."

Swansea have won seven of the last 10 south Wales derbies and come in to the fixture following a convincing 3-0 win over Preston North End.

Earnshaw added: "They [Cardiff] have to perform, they can’t lose - so that’s why I’m worried.

"Swansea will be favourites, they’ve won so many at home in the last few games against Cardiff, they’ve won seven out of 10 of the south Wales derbies, so they’ll be big, big favourites and that’s why I’m worried for Cardiff City."

Asked if he felt boss Bulut would be under pressure if the Swans inflicted a third loss from their opening three games, Earnshaw said: "It’s still early, I don’t think any decision will be made, but... if you go to Swansea and lose three in a row, if you go and perform again like you did last weekend and perform in that way, of course there is going to be pressure.

"But I think Cardiff have got a good team, I think they have got good players, I think they have the potential to turn things around."

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Former Cardiff City favourite Michael Chopra says he will be sat with away fans at this Sunday's derby at Swansea City.

Chopra is fondly remembered by Bluebirds supporters for scoring a late winner in the fixture at the Cardiff City Stadium in 2010.

Replying to a post on 'X', the 40-year-old said he will be in the away end at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Chopra made 145 appearances for the Championship club across four spells, scoring 65 goals.

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Iwan Roberts believes Mark McGuiness’ move to Luton Town will be “good business” for Cardiff City.

McGuinness, 23, has made 86 Cardiff appearances, scoring six goals, since joining from Arsenal in 2021.

He also played 24 games for Sheffield Wednesday during a loan spell in 2022-23.

But McGuinness is set to bid farewell to the Bluebirds, with the centre-back expected to join Luton in a deal which could eventually be worth £10m.

“Mark McGuinness is a throwback if you ask me. He is an old-fashioned defender – he enjoys defending,” former Wales striker Roberts told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

“I don’t think he’s great on the ball. His distribution isn’t brilliant - I think he’d admit that.

“But if you put the ball in his penalty box, he will go and win it, he will put his body on the line. That’s something you don’t see too much of in this day and age.

“£10m for a player who a couple of years ago went on loan to Sheffield Wednesday and didn’t look as if he had a future at the club – it’s good business for Cardiff and it will be a good move for Mark.”

Cardiff are expected to replace McGuinness with Cercle Brugge centre-back Jesper Daland, while the Championship club are also working on a deal for Manchester United defender Will Fish.

Erol Bulut’s side face Swansea City in the south Wales derby on Sunday having made a dispiriting start to the new league season, with last weekend’s 5-0 mauling at Burnley following a 2-0 opening-day loss to Sunderland.

“It’s been a really, really slow start for Cardiff and they need to get back to winning ways,” Roberts added.

“Two [league] games in, I think the pressure is on Erol Bulut already.”

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Cardiff City's EFL Cup second-round tie with Premier League club Southampton will be played on Wednesday, 28 August at the Cardiff City Stadium (19:45 BST).

The Bluebirds have a Championship derby at rivals Swansea City next Sunday (15:00 BST).

Their following league game is at home against Middlesbrough on Saturday, August 31 (12:30 BST).

Southampton, managed by former Swansea boss Russell Martin, are one of the 13 Premier League clubs not participating in European competitions who enter the League Cup at this stage.

Cardiff booked their place in round two with a 2-0 home win over Bristol Rovers.

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says he is hopeful of more transfer activity for the Bluebirds before the transfer window closes.

Bulut says the need to sign players is irrespective of the severity of injuries to midfielders Joe Ralls and Aaron Ramsey.

Ralls, the Cardiff captain, limped off in the first half of Cardiff’s 5-0 defeat at Burnley, while Ramsey was limping at the end of the match and could not continue.

“I hope the injuries to Aaron Ramsey and Joe Ralls aren’t so serious,” Bulut told BBC Radio Wales.

On the transfer front, Bulut said: “I hope we can get somebody in. We will see.

“We need players in a few positions. We need players who can come off the bench and change the game.

“We are not finished with transfers, we will try to make a few more.”

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says he cannot offer any clarity on the situation of defender Mark McGuinness.

McGuinness has been linked with a move away from the Cardiff City Stadium, with Luton interested in the former Arsenal player.

McGuinness scored in Cardiff's win in the EFL Cup in midweek but did not travel with the Bluebirds for their 5-0 thumping at Burnley.

Bulut says he can offer no update on the situation.

“I don’t want to talk too much about Mark McGuinness. Let’s see and wait what will happen," he said.

“It is possible he was left out because of that [a possible transfer].

“I cannot tell you if we have accepted an offer or not. The board can tell you more things about that."

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says his side "must forget as quickly as possible" their 5-0 thrashing at Burnley as they look ahead to the south Wales derby.

Cardiff could be bottom of the Championship table when they face bitter rivals Swansea in their next match on Sunday, 25 August.

Bulut says his side must shrug off the disappointment of being humbled at Turf Moor and feels his side can still have a good season.

“We have to forget this game as quickly as possible. It is good this happened at the start of the season. We can still change everything," he said.

“I believe we have a good team here so we try to build on what we did last year.

“We dominated the first half against a team who got relegated from the Premier League.

“We forget this game and look to next week which is a derby.

“We have shown we can play good football. Only the goals are missing. I hope next week we can show that."

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Turf Moor has not been a happy hunting ground for Cardiff City, who last won an away fixture against Burnley back in 1988.

In 16 visits since then, Cardiff have managed eight draws and been beaten on another eight occasions.

If they are to change the record this weekend, the Bluebirds will need to overcome a Burnley side who are widely expected to be among the leading promotion contenders in the Championship this season.

Having been relegated from the Premier League last term, the Clarets lost manager Vincent Kompany to Bayern Munich in the summer, while his assistant Craig Bellamy departed to become Wales head coach.

But they began life under new boss Scott Parker – who has twice won promotion from the Championship as a coach – in spectacular fashion last Monday as they demolished Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

Having been given a bye in round one of the Carabao Cup, Parker’s men will play their second game of the new campaign against Cardiff.

The Welsh club are looking for their first points of the season following an opening-day defeat against Sunderland, with boss Erol Bulut expecting a stern challenge in Lancashire.

“Burnley are a strong team,” he said.

“They had a strong team two years ago when they got promoted, then in the Premier League they added a lot of quality players.

“Some players have left but they are still a really strong candidate to go up again, but we will go to Burnley to take our chance.”

Cardiff have injury issues for Burnley, with David Turnbull joining Jamilu Collins, Isaak Davies and Kion Etete on the sidelines.

Anwar El Ghazi is not yet fit following his summer move to Wales, while there are doubts over Callum Robinson and Cian Ashford.

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Erol Bulut says Cardiff City must be patient with Alex Robertson as the midfielder builds fitness following his move from Manchester City.

Robertson made his Bluebirds debut in the midweek EFL Cup win over Bristol Rovers.

The 21-year-old, who played for just under an hour as Cardiff reached round two, joined the Championship club earlier this month in a deal which could be worth £3m.

Bulut was impressed with Australia international Robertson’s contribution, but says he is short of peak condition.

“We saw if he has the ball in the last third or the middle of third, his passes, [he can make] key passes [and also have] shots from distance which we need,” Bulut said.

“And also his work-rate. He had some very good defensive runs where he fought for the ball.

“But we don’t forget it was his first game for many weeks, so we have to get him to a good level where he can start a few game for us.”

Robertson was an unused substitute as Cardiff were beaten by Sunderland in their opening game of the Championship season last weekend.

He could make his first appearance in the second tier when Bulut’s men go to Burnley on Saturday.

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The 2024 summer proved to be an eventful one for the O'Dowda household.

Republic of Ireland winger Callum O'Dowda continued his recovery from a groin injury in a bid to ensure he was able to be a prominent figure for Cardiff City this season.

But the 29-year-old and his family also had their eyes glued to the television as the versatile full-back's 24-year-old sister Jade O'Dowda competed for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympics.

Jade O'Dowda - a bronze medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games - earned a total of 6,280 points to finish 10th in the women's heptathlon in Paris.

And her older brother could not hide his joy with his sister's performance in France following what has been a gruelling year for the athlete.

"Over the last six months, it's been the journey of her trying to get to the Olympics and then getting there and then competing," said Cardiff man O'Dowda.

"What people didn't see is all of the stuff she had to go through prior to it. 

"She was managing stuff and it was all of the stress and pressure to deliver, and she did. I'm so proud of her.

"She's been on some journey, from me dragging her over to the park to play football and running, then to her doing it on the Olympic stage. 

"I wish I could have gone, but with the timings of the football I couldn't make it. But I'm mega proud of her.

"My parents went over to watch her and we had all of the family round my house, all of us were shouting at the TV.

"She did really well to get 10th, for her age as well. She can have a bit of time to relax and have a holiday now."

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Cardiff City will be hoping for a repeat of last season's home match against Southampton, after drawing Russell Martin's side in round two of the Carabao Cup.

Cardiff will host the Saints in the week commencing 26 August.

After a 2-0 away defeat earlier in season 2023-24, the Bluebirds then won in the Welsh capital against the Saints 2-1 in April, thanks to an added-time winner from 19 year old Cian Ashford (pictured).

It was sweet revenge for fans of the Welsh side, after enduring a five finger taunt from former Swansea boss Martin - a gesture highlighting the number of times he had beaten them as a manager - four as Swansea coach.

Martin's Southampton would go on to win promotion to the Premier League, beating Leeds in the Championship play off final at Wembley.

They begin their top flight campaign at Newcastle on Saturday.

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Cardiff City are poised to send three of their young players out on loan.

Wingers Raheem Conte and Kieron Evans, along with centre-back Malaki Fagan-Walcott are to be loaned out for first team experience.

They will follow in the footsteps of Joel Colwill, who scored twice on his debut for Cheltenham Town in their 3-2 League Two win over Newport County last weekend.

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut and his coaching staff have made decisions on some of the younger Bluebirds in the wake of Tuesday's 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Bristol Rovers.

Conte made his first competitive start in that game, having had three outings as a substitute last term.

Brithdir-product Evans, 22, who had a loan spell at National League club Gateshead last season, was a second half substitute against Rovers.

He signed a new contract in the summer having previously had loan stints at Torquay United and Linfield.

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Fagan-Walcott, 22, was also a second half replacement in the league cup tie and is set for another spell away having been on loan at Scottish club Dunfermline last season.

Manager Bulut said: “I think Raheem needs a loan, Malaki Fagan-Walcott also needs a loan to come back much stronger.

“With Kieron Evans I would like to have him play continuously and without injuries for one season.”

He added other young players would also be sent out before the summer transfer window shuts on 30 August.

Last season Cardiff sent 16 players out on a loan and believe it is far more beneficial for them to go elsewhere, rather than remain in-house to be squad fringe players and play largely under-21 matches.

Bulut cited the examples of Isaac Davies, who caught the eye in pre-season after a season’s loan at Belgian club Kortrijk, only to suffer a hamstring tear which will sideline him for four months.

Defender Joel Bagan has also impressed after his loan at the Belgian Pro League club S.V. Zulte Waregem. He was on the bench against Sunderland and played the 90 minutes against Rovers.

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Cardiff City fear Scottish midfielder David Turnbull could be set for a month on the side lines.

Former Motherwell player Turnbull, 25, joined from Celtic last January.

He suffered a groin injury in the warm-up ahead of Cardiff City's 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Bristol Rovers at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night.

He missed the game with young midfielder Eli King being promoted from the bench.

Turnbull is due to have more medical examinations today, with Bluebirds boss Erol Bulut fearing he could be out for four weeks.

“I think it looks like one month out. He had a shot at goal in the warm up and then he felt a pain in his adductor," Bulut said.

“We will see from the scan but I hope it is not something too serious.”

Cardiff head to Burnley on Saturday looking for their first points of the season and also have a worry over striker Callum Robinson who netted six goals in pre-season.

Irish international Robinson suffered a kick on his Achilles in the opening 2-0 home defeat by Sunderland.

Bulut said: “Callum trained individually today. Tomorrow he will have a session to see if he is available or not on Saturday.”

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Rubin Colwill is well aware there are some in football who are still waiting for him to fully exploit his vast potential.

But the Cardiff City forward is just concentrating on trying to improve, believing the hard work will pay off.

The 22-year-old Wales international said: “I don’t take any notice to be honest.

“I want every season to be my breakout season, the one where I go and score 20 goals and get 20 assists.

“But I think I just have to work myself to be the best I can be, have that sort of confidence that things will work out.

“When the time is right, the time is right, and I will start every game and I will be scoring every week. But that has to come by improving and working hard and trying to get myself in the best place possible with my football.”

Colwill opened his goal account for the season by helping Cardiff wrap up a 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Bristol Rovers.

Cardiff manager Erol Bulut felt Colwill should have had more goals but said: “He is a great player and he can be much, much better. He has to change a few things, but we will try to push him on to this level.

“Rubin is a player, when you put him for 20 minutes on the pitch, he tries to make 90 minutes in 20 minutes. This he has to manage much better."

Colwill believes Bulut’s coaching advice has already paid dividends.

“You can look at when he (Bulut) first came in at the start of last season to the player I am now," Colwill said.

“The patience and tactical awareness of where to be and timing of movement - things I was not very good at before – has really improved. That has come from him telling me what he wants from me.”

New attack coach Omer Riza has also been of benefit as Colwill looks to build on a more effective campaign last season, when he made 41 appearances for club and country, following an injury-hampered spell.

"I felt I had a really good year playing and training really well, I was obviously missing the goal in the numbers side of the game but I think that comes with practice and experience," he added.

“Maybe early on in my career I scored a few more goals which I probably did not deserve, now I think it is the other way around. I would much rather it be this way – I am playing well and not getting the final touch.

“It’s a little sort of thing that has to change. (Against Rovers) I should have scored three or four, that tiny little difference can make a massive difference on the pitch.”

It has not all been plain sailing for Colwill at international level, either.

The Neath-born product earned the first of his eight caps against France in June 2021.

But after a World Cup appearance in the 3-0 defeat by England in Qatar in 2022, Colwill was moved into the Under-21s, until June’s goalless draw with Gibraltar, played in Portugal.

That was Rob Page’s penultimate game at the helm and now Colwill has to impress new boss Craig Bellamy to force his way back into the senior international reckoning on a regular basis.

Colwill is no stranger to Bellamy. He coached the striker when in charge of Cardiff’s youth team and there was a chance meeting between the pair on the day Bellamy was unveiled as Wales manager.

"We talked about things from the past, a couple of games against Burnley (where Bellamy was a coach) when they sort of gave me the run around. He was having a joke about that.

“I know Craig really well he knows me really well from the under-18s. He is a good coach and it's exciting for Wales.

“I would love to be back in. It's everybody’s dream to play for their country.”