Cardiff City: Big January "shake up" mooted with defender set to be first exit | OneFootball

Bluebirds defender Jamilu Collins has interest from Saudi Arabian clubs.

Cardiff City defender Jamilu Collins could be set to swap South Wales for the Middle East as one of a number of exits in January.

According to Darren Witcoop, several clubs in Saudi Arabia are interested in the 30-year-old, who has made just three Championship appearances for the Bluebirds all season.

Witcoop has reported that Cardiff are preparing to overhaul their squad in January in order to try and save their second tier status for another season, with Collins one of 12 whose contracts at the Cardiff City Stadium are due to expire in the summer.

Collins was a regular feature in the Cardiff side last season but has badly struggled for gametime under Omer Riza this campaign.

Collins has hardly featured for Cardiff this term

Collins has fallen out of the reckoning at Cardiff this season, having featured heavily last season. The Nigerian made 36 Championship appearances in 2023/24, notching one goal and four assists in the league. His performances last season earned him a one-year extension to his contract at the start of the summer.

This term, however, he has fallen behind Joel Bagan (pictured) and Callum O’Dowda in the pecking order for Cardiff’s left-back spot.

Collins moved to Cardiff in the summer of 2022, but made just four outings for the Bluebirds in 2022/23, before suffering an ACL injury that ended his season prematurely.

Prior to moving to South Wales, he’d spent five consecutive seasons with Paderborn in Germany, where he helped his side to back-to-back promotions from the 3. Liga to the Bundesliga.

Collins has also played for Sibenik and NK Istra 1961 in Croatia, plus a spell with Slovenian side NK Krka, in a career that has taken him all across Europe.

The 22-cap Nigerian international now looks set for a move to Asia for the first time in his fairly nomadic career.

Cardiff need an overhaul to save their season

Overhauling the squad is usually something associated with the summer transfer window, given how little room for manoeuvre there is in January, but Cardiff desperately need changes in January in order to save their second tier status.

An eight-game winless run has left the Bluebirds sat inside the bottom three at Christmas, making a return to the third tier for the first time since 2002/03 a very real possibility.

City are one of only three sides in the division who are yet to win a game away from home and they desperately need to improve if they are to survive.

No one has scored less league goals in the Championship than Cardiff, something Riza badly needs to address in January. Fail to do so, and they could be staring the prospect of relegation in the face.

Cardiff can at least take solace from the fact that the Championship’s relegation battle looks like it could potentially involve at least seven teams, but they must improve if they are to escape trouble.