Cardiff City: Omer Riza U-turn is relief but highlights issue of his own making | OneFootball

Cian Ashford's recent breakthrough under Omer Riza has been exceptional - but why did it take so long for the winger to get a run in the side?

Cardiff City have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes as of late and at the very heart of that has been resurgent young winger Cian Ashford, but questions need to be asked as to why his importance and value to the side has only recently been recognised.

The Bluebirds, you would imagine, have a strong chance at stretching their unbeaten run across the Championship and FA Cup to eight matches when they welcome fellow relegation-battlers Derby County to the Cardiff City Stadium. Just one point and one place separates the two sides, but the recent form table is much more contrasting and will likely fuel a growing sense of confidence within the Welsh capital.

There have been a number of success stories, if you like, over the last month or so, as far as City are concerned. The highs of last weekend's remarkable 3-0 thrashing of bitter rivals Swansea City in the latest edition of the south Wales derby will not be eclipsed, of course, while new signing Yousef Salech made midweek headlines for netting a dramatic, last-grasp equaliser to complete a 2-2 comeback at Millwall in just his second game for the club.

Rather unprecedented resurgences have also taken place; Andy Rinomhota has been thrust in from the cold to lock down Cardiff's right-back berth over two-time Player of the Year winner Perry Ng and Calum Chambers has been a revelation since being moved into central midfield, but at the top-end of the pitch, Ashford has been instrumental of late, prompting a change in stance from manager Omer Riza having now established himself in the first-team frame.

Omer Riza's Cardiff City, Cian Ashford stance following impressive form breakthrough

Academy product Ashford announced his name last season by scoring a sensational 96th-minute winner against Russell Martin's Southampton back in April, but opportunities under both Erol Bulut and then Riza had proved difficult to come by until just a month ago.

Indeed, up until Cardiff's Boxing Day defeat at Oxford United, the 20-year-old had played only 81 minutes of football spread across five Championship appearances in 2024/25, all off the bench.

His peripheral role meant he had been lined up for a potential loan exit this month in a bid to get out and play regular football, but that's not going to be happening now following a blistering run of form across the turn of the year.

Ashford appeared from the bench to score in the 3-2 loss at the Kassam Stadium before setting up consecutive goals against Watford and Coventry City. The winger then found the back of the net in both Cardiff's 1-0 FA Cup third-round win over Sheffield United and the subsequent draw at home to Watford, meaning he has three strikes and two assists in his last eight matches.

Unsurprisingly, Riza confirmed last week that Ashford is no longer under consideration for a loan departure and will instead remain as part of his first-team.

He told the press: "There was talk of it [going out on loan] because we have to try and help the player, and sometimes with a loan they gain experience and confidence.

"He's stepping up a level now which is what I wanted. Potentially he was going to go out on loan, but now he won't be."

Cian Ashford should have been trusted earlier under Omer Riza at Cardiff City

Ashford has starred for the Bluebirds of late, which must prompt a nagging feeling of 'what-if'.

Admittedly, questions do need to be asked why an enormous talent like Ashford had to wait until three days shy of 2025 to start his first league affair of the campaign and why even opportunities as a substitute arrived at such a premium, particularly in light of Cardiff's well-documented attacking deficiencies and mixed performances from Yakou Meite and Anwar El Ghazi, both of whom had been preferred on the right-hand side but have left supporters largely frustrated this term.

Ashford has already amassed more league goal involvements than the vastly-experienced duo, who have each racked up nearly double his minutes in the Championship, while his impactful ball-progression, energy and physicality on the right flank cannot be understated either.

There's an argument to suggest the Wales U21 star should have essentially never been considered for a loan move elsewhere in the first place.

Sure, simply getting out and playing regular football would have represented a relative positive for Ashford, who is simply too talented and has too much potential to not be doing exactly that, but he has not just spawned out of nowhere either - he was good enough at the start of the season and should not have spent months waiting for a showing of fair faith.

Cardiff now look set to reap the rewards from Riza's change in stance. Ashford is an enormous talent who offers a new and much-needed dimension to City's attack, and accumulating a strong body of work in the second-tier will only help the club to profit greatly from a homegrown academy graduate in the years to come, so there cannot be too many complaints.

However, considering how quickly Ashford has acclimated after spending much of the first-half of the season as third-choice behind two underperforming counterparts, one has to wonder why his role had been so much less prominent for months on end and perhaps how many extra points 20th-placed Cardiff could be counting on the league table if the gifted attacker had received more trust earlier on.