With the January transfer window just over a month away, there are certain Cardiff City players who are running out of time to prove that they’re worth keeping.
After years of hovering around the bottom of the league, the Bluebirds are now in the top half of the table thanks to an incredible start to life under Erol Bulut.
Aaron Ramsey, Dimitrios Goutas, and Manolis Siopis are just a few of the talented players the Turkish manager has added to the team. This implies that players who were consistent performers in prior seasons have been replaced and are now fighting for playing time.
Here, we’ll examine four Cardiff players who have a month to establish their value.
Mahlon Romeo
formerly a Millwall right-back Romeo played in 33 league games the previous season, but under Bulut, he has struggled to get playing time this season. Romeo has struggled to string together a string of wins for the Bluebirds, and he has had to settle for the occasional cameo from the bench as Perry NG has been in excellent form.
Romeo, who is 28 years old and a demonstrated skilled player at the championship level, will understand that he needs to start playing more. He might be traded in January if Bulut doesn’t give him more playing time.
Romaine Saywers
This season, Sawyers, 32, has had almost no playing time. He’s been let down by Cardiff’s recruitment of elite midfield players like Aaron Ramsey and Manolis Siopis, and he hasn’t had many opportunities to demonstrate his abilities.
| A list of clubs that Romaine Sawyers has played for | |
| Team name | Years |
| West Brom | 2009-13 |
| Port Vale (loan) | 2011 |
| Shrewsbury (loan) | 2012 |
| Walsall (loan) | 2013 |
| Walsall | 2013-16 |
| Brentford | 2016-19 |
| West Brom | 2019-22 |
| Stoke City (loan) | 2021-22 |
| Cardiff City | 2022- |
Sawyers will feel that he still has a lot to offer at the EFL level because he has a wealth of experience at the Championship level and because he is only 32.
Andy Rinomhota
Like Sawyers, Rinomhota saw a significant decrease in playing time thus far this season despite playing extensively under Steve Morison, Mark Hudson, and Sabri Lamouchi the previous season.
Since he started all three of the Bluebirds’ League Cup games, the midfield player has played the majority of his minutes. Rinomhota hasn’t played in a League match since the opening weekend of the season, so it’s clear that he hasn’t done enough to win Bulut over.
At just 27, the former Reading player ought to be at the top of his game, but instead he spends most weekends warming the bench.
Ebou Adams
It makes sense that Adams has had to wait patiently for playing time this season given that the former Forest Green Rovers player was sidelined for the entirety of the 2022–2023 season due to injury.
Although Bulut has made a few starts in the league and cup, you can understand why he might be hesitant to choose the Gambian international every week given Cardiff’s depth in midfield and Adams’ injury problems from the previous campaign.
To provide Adams with the much-needed playing time he needs in preparation for a big season with the Bluebirds the following year, a short-term loan to a Championship team or a top-tier League One team might be a smart idea.
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