Cardiff City: Big Erol Bulut update emerges | OneFootball

Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan has given the go-ahead to open talks with Bluebirds' manager Erol Bulut over a new contract this summer.

Bulut's deal is up at the end of this season, and any decision from the club regarding his future as boss has been up in the air until this point.

It is now believed that Tan has agreed to discuss keeping the 49-year-old on as manager, with a decision to be made in the coming days, according to Wales Online.

The news comes after the Cardiff City Supporter's Trust penned an open letter to their owner earlier this month, urging him to make a decision on the manager's future before the season ended.

His side currently sit 12th in the Championship table on 62 points as they travel to Rotherham United on the final day of the season.

Job well done for Bulut so far

Bulut began his managerial career in his native Turkey in 2017, taking charge of Yeni Malatyaspor before managing Alanyaspor, Fenerbahce and Gaziantep up to last year.

He was appointed as Cardiff boss in June 2023, after Sabri Lamouchi was not offered a new contract by owner Tan, with the club having narrowly survived relegation from the Championship by five points.

Bulut was unable to spend fees on players in his first summer as boss, after the club had been placed under an EFL embargo because they defaulted on payment of the transfer fee for the late Emiliano Sala.

This meant a subdued transfer window, with sensible free signings of Greek pair Dimitrios Goutas and Manolis Siopis, Reading winger Yakou Meite, returning hero Aaron Ramsey from OGC Nice and loans of Josh Bowler, Jonathan Panzo and Karlan Grant from Nottingham Forest and West Brom respectively, among some others.

Bulut's side won just one of their opening five games, but a run of four consecutive wins in September saw them shoot back up the table to as high as sixth.

There have been numerous notable wins throughout his first season, such as the 4-0 drubbing at Huddersfield Town in October, the late 2-1 win at Preston in November and the even later 2-1 victory over high-flying Ipswich Town last month.

It has been a relatively successful debut campaign in English football for the 49-year-old, made even sweeter as he guided the Bluebirds to their first home win over Swansea City in a decade with a 2-0 victory in September thanks to goals from Ollie Tanner and Aaron Ramsey.

His team are now 12th in the table and have not been lower than 14th since January, so whilst not the most exciting season, mid-table security will be welcomed by Bluebirds fans after the previous two seasons' finishes of 21st and 18th.

It seems a no-brainer for Vincent Tan to offer Bulut new terms given what he has done for the club so far, with progress still to be made as he approaches the first summer window in which he can spend money on incoming players.

From the outside looking in, it does seem an easy resolution for the club to retain Bulut's services, but Cardiff fans will simply be relieved that their owner of 14 years has not made another rash decision that grabs national headlines.

Tan has been a decisive figure since he stepped foot in South Wales in 2010, once being described as the 'worst owner in sports.'

In 2012, he sparked supporter outrage by changing club colours from blue to red as part of major investment plans, a decision he later reversed in 2015.

He also sacked popular manager Malky Mackay in December 2013 after publicly telling the Scot that he would not be allowed to sign players in the January window and emailing him to resign or face being relieved of his duties, as well as appearing to boo the Cardiff players off the pitch following a draw with Sunderland that same month.

Over the last four years he has been at the forefront of a legal case with FC Nantes over the death of striker Emiliano Sala, with Tan recently stating that the French club "must be punished", despite the Bluebirds previously being ordered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to pay the first installment of the transfer fee to Nantes.

With all this considered, it should be a beacon of optimism to fans and a sign of the good job that Bulut has done that Tan is set to put his faith in him to be the man to lead Cardiff to success in the years to come.