Brian Barry-Murphy's Cardiff City transfer plan now clear as two assurances given

Wales Online

19-06-2025

Brian Barry-Murphy's Cardiff City transfer plan now clear as two assurances given
The new Bluebirds boss held court with the media on his third day in the job
Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy
(Image: Cardiff City FC )
Brian Barry-Murphy might only be four days into his new job as Cardiff City boss, but the summer is well and truly under way and transfer plans will begin to move at a pace.
In some ways, Cardiff are now playing catch-up, with a number of their League One rivals having made moves in the market. However, the Bluebirds enter this summer with a squad that should, on paper — I know, nothing is ever won on paper — be far too good for their divisional rivals.
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That being said, it's highly unlikely all of the players currently counted among the Bluebirds cohort will be contracted to the club when the transfer window shuts. That is arguably the biggest challenge which faces Barry-Murphy – deciding who should stay and who can be allowed to leave.
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Indeed Callum Robinson, Cardiff's top scorer last year, has been tentatively linked with a move away, the same goes for goalkeeper Ethan Horvath. While one suspects one-time England international Calum Chambers will have suitors in the Championship. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community
Perry Ng, Yousef Salech, Callum O'Dowda, Alex Robertson and others are bound to have caught a few glances from admirers, too. But, laying out his transfer plan, Barry-Murphy said he has been given assurances that he is under no pressure to allow any of those players to leave. Indeed, he has been told the vast majority of this squad will be here come the end of the summer.
"The key message I had was that there was no pressure to sell any player in the squad," he said. "A key process moving forward is, anything we want to improve in the club, I have the absolute support of the people at the top of the club to do that. That will be the mantra of pre-season and beyond.
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"I'm really pleased with the squad and excited to start working with them next Monday. The most important factor for me was the assurance that a large number of this playing squad, which I know really well — players I've either worked with before or seen from the outside — are going to remain here.
"Any players we lose are going to be on our terms, not because we have to sell players, and that's really important."
He added: "We should be really clear from the start. The idea is that we want to do things on our terms. It's a really simple process.
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"All the players who have played for us have been really privileged to play for the club. They leave on our terms, if the club receives an offer that works for them. Not the other way around. That leads to a really simple process and it leaves the players really clear on what is best practice."
Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman told WalesOnline recently the squad would have to be cut down, both because it is bloated in a number of areas and, as Barry-Murphy points out, room must be afforded the club's homegrown talent to flourish.
"My belief is the smaller the squad, within reason, the more it aligns to having a culture of improvement and players having a strong opportunity to play," the new Bluebirds boss added.
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"It allows the younger players the opportunity to grow and play. If we have too many players and they don't play then it's a contradiction to the way I see it.
"So have a strong squad from the players who are here, then complement it with the players coming through from the academy and the younger ones. Then, adding quality then means we can be specific on what it looks like to have an elite team in this division."
Adding to recent academy graduates — Isaak Davies, Rubin Colwill, Joel Bagan, Cian Ashford and the like — are going to be more emerging youngsters.
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Ronan Kpakio, Joel Colwill, Dylan Lawlor, Tanatswa Nyakuhwa, Luey Giles and more are likely to be pressing their cases for spots in Barry-Murphy's senior squad come the start of the League One campaign.
At the other end of the spectrum, there is the small matter of dealing with two very experienced players, who are locked in talks over a new deal, with their current contracts set to expire at the end of the month.
Club captain Joe Ralls and Players' Player of the Season Andy Rinomhota are yet to decide their futures.
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While Barry-Murphy conveyed a real desire and clarity to his vision of bringing through young talent in his first press conference, it's important not to get carried away and realise that experience will be vital in League One. That is what both Ralls and Rinomhota would offer.
And despite being in his first week in the job, the Bluebirds head coach wants to get those two particular cases resolved as a matter of urgency. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
"I think there is an awareness from me about both of those players, in particular, I know Andy from when he was at Reading as a young player and I watched his career grow," he said of Rinomhota.
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"Obviously Joe Ralls has a deep relationship with this club and has been so good over a number of years.
"Out of respect for those guys, we have an obligation to deal with those things really quickly and promptly. I will be having those discussions over the next few days. Then it's a process of communicating that with our supporters as quickly as possible, that will be the best way to move that forward."