Cardiff City: Any Rubin Colwill and Dimitrios Goutas transfer advances must be snubbed | OneFootball

Cardiff City must hold firm throughout the summer transfer window

Something of a squad rebuild awaits Cardiff City for the third summer running, with Erol Bulut looking to construct a team capable of challenging for play-off contention free of the handicaps of a partial transfer embargo and, it will be hoped, the hazard of falling foul of the EFL's Profit and Sustainability regulations.

Both implications were real impediments to Cardiff's activity last summer and back in January too, but they're now reared and ready to undertake a transfer window of real significance ahead of the 2024/25 season. The squad surgery that Cardiff must conduct in the coming weeks is barely embroiled in mystery with at least two strikers, a winger if not two, additional options in midfield and fresh impetus in central defence all bound to appear on Bulut's summer wishlist.

Therefore, it can be easy to forget that the Bluebirds' success in this window will also be underlined by player retention, a determinant that remains equally crucial if Bulut and Cardiff are to realise their mutual ambitions of challenging for a return to the Premier League come 2025.

In what serves as more of a stark reminder of troubled recent history than anything else, Cardiff had seldom encountered any real risk of a poaching of their prized assets - save for Kieffer Moore's controversial transfer to Bournemouth in 2022 - but it's now a testament to the club's fresh upwards progression across 2023/24 that they're braced for external transfer advances. The importance of rebuffing certain approaches cannot be understated however, and there are two outstanding players that Cardiff simply must retain at (almost) all costs.

Rubin Colwill

An unusually-divisive figure among supporters, Ruben Colwill's precocious talent is little secret and it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Premier League clubs are understood to be keen on investing in his long-term potential.

Top-flight newcomers Ipswich Town, who have developed a penchant for optimal talent development under innovative Head Coach Kieran McKenna and are also reportedly close to brokering a deal for ex-City loan star Jaden Philogene, have been mooted as known admirers of Colwill ahead of their first Premier League crusade in over 20 years.

Arsenal have also been monitoring Colwill, according to reports, with Mikel Arteta's second-in-command, Albert Stuivenberg, having seen plenty of the playmaker during his previous role with the Welsh national team.

Colwill has seen trials and tribulations imposed upon his progression through the unforgiving fortune of recurring injuries - some of which have been inflicted by an unprecedented growth spurt, while Cardiff's style of play and high managerial turnover have both also contributed to an instability that has been anything but conducive to truly unlocking his potential.

Nonetheless, there is a growing school of thought that Colwill could make next season his own at a critical juncture of his career. He finished the season strongly with Cardiff and has been elevated in Bulut's thinking in recent months, with the City faithful now hoping that he can establish and sustain himself as a star-turn in the side in a season they will hope can yield a push towards the top-six positions.

Although Colwill only scored twice from 36 outings - 14 of which were start - the underlying numbers present a fairer indication of his quality, which can often be a game-changer for Cardiff.

Standing at an almighty 6'5", Colwill's imposing physical frame is a drastic contradiction to the elegance and guile that he drifts past opposing defenders with, and his progressive ball-carrying abilities represent an isolated attribute among the side's midfield options. The combination of his stature and dribbling represents a unique footballing profile that top-flight clubs are right to pursue, but Cardiff must try and maximise that before sanctioning a sale.

The Bluebirds are firmly within the knowledge that they stand little chance of keeping hold of Colwill once he ascends further towards his footballing ceiling, although they'll be well-placed to receive a significantly higher fee in a year's time if all goes to plan.

While Cardiff are bracing themselves for interest in Colwill alongside the likes of Mark McGuinness, Isaak Davies and Perry Ng, the reported emergence of a bid for Dimitros Goutas has thrown something of a curveball towards the Cardiff City Stadium. It's not yet clear where the bid has come from, or its value, but the mere thought of losing Cardiff's defensive heartbeat has sent chills down the spines of supporters.

Goutas signed from Turkish top-flight outfit Sivasspor last summer and instantly instated himself as the true lynchpin of Cardiff's backline and didn't miss a single match across the entire season. Indeed, had he not been substituted after 77 minutes in their 2-1 defeat up at Leicester City all the way back in August then he'd have played every single minute of league action.

That underlines his importance to Cardiff, which mustn't get lost on them regardless of how much clubs decide to offer for his services before the end of next month. Invaluable in both boxes, Goutas scored four times for Cardiff and installed a much-needed sense of solidity and leadership to Bulut's defensive line and they'll be even more reliant on him now that impressive loanee Nat Phillips has returned to Liverpool ahead of a permanent Anfield exit.