“Credit to the board” - Vincent Tan hailed for Cardiff City youth academy situation | OneFootball

FLW's Cardiff City fan pundit assesses the success of the Bluebirds academy

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Cardiff City's youth academy has developed talented players over the years, such as Aaron Ramsey, who went on to play for Arsenal and Serie A giants Juventus before making a romantic return back to the Welsh capital during the summer of 2023/

The Bluebirds academy also produced full-back Chris Gunter, who went on to join Tottenham Hotspur, and starred in Wales' fairytale Euro 2016 campaign alongside Ramsey, by which time he represented Reading, then of the Championship at club level.

Despite being what is an average Championship club in recent years, Cardiff are still doing things very right when it comes to nurturing their young talents.

Cardiff City academy setup lauded with praise issued for Vincent Tan

Football League World asked our Cardiff fan pundit, Jack Price, what he thought of the Bluebirds academy, and whether the club is producing enough good talent, and the response was a positive one, especially towards Vincent Tan and the board.

However, concerns have been raised over the number of players that have turned down professional contracts in order to move to other clubs, including current Man United teenager Gabriele Biancheri.

"I think there are many criticisms you can send towards the Cardiff hierarchy in recent years, but that can't be about the development of our academy system," Jack told Football League World.

"We went through a real barren run of not producing anyone who was really at first-team level for us.

"After the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Chris Gunter, and the like came through the ranks, there wasn't really anybody coming through.

"But in the last four or five years, there has been improvement ten-fold.

"Not too long ago, we completed the construction and the opening of a new academy training base in Llanrumney, which I think is believed to cost more than £8m, so you can see the dedication that we have got to improving our academy, and there's talent coming off the conveyor belt now too.

"Obviously, you've got Rubin Colwill, who I think we're going to make real money from in the not too distant future - he is a superstar.

"Isaak Davies, Joel Bagan, Joel Colwill, there's loads coming through, Eli King as well - really, really talented young players who will either play at first-team level for us, or still go on to have solid careers and probably get us some money in the process.

"The frustrating part is, with the growth of our academy, it's left us more susceptible to losing our best players before they've signed pro-contracts.

"We had a young striker by the name of Gabriele Biancheri who's gone to Man United.

"I think it was a year or two ago now, and he's in the under-18s up there, and he's performing so well people are raving about him, he's probably going to make his debut before long.

"We had another one, Timeo Whisker, who's gone to Man City, and we lose these players for nothing because they haven't signed their pro deals, but it is a testament to how good we're doing at all aspects really.

"Even Charlie Crew, he's at Leeds, you'd probably expect him to make a breakthrough sooner rather than later.

"So, we're doing excellent with our academy, and there's a lot of talent coming through now, the likes of Michael Reindorf, Cian Ashford, who are sort of on the periphery of the first-team.

"The blossoming of our academy in recent years has been a real source of positivity among supporters.

"I don't think there's any feeling that beats seeing one of your own starring for the first-team, so hopefully there's plenty more of that to come.

"But credit to the board, credit to everyone who has put the investment in, because it is paying off, and I know the dream is for our academy system to eventually form the backbone of our first team squad.

"Hopefully, we're en-route to that."

Rubin Colwill could fetch Cardiff City a handsome sum and prove the academy is working

As alluded to by Jack, above all, Bluebirds supporters will currently feel very proud of the fact that academy product Colwill is currently their side's star player, which was epitomised by the fact he scored a goal and produced two assists during their 5-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon.

But while Colwill is a clear asset on the pitch, the club's hierarchy will be aware that the 22-year-old will one day likely be sold for a handsome transfer fee either to a Championship club vying for promotion to the Premier League, or even a top-flight side.

Arsenal were reportedly keeping tabs on Colwill's development earlier this year, and whilst that may be too big of a step up for the Welshman, the playmaker certainly has the ability to break into the top flight of English football.

And with the likes of Davies and Reindorf coming through the ranks, the Bluebirds look set to enjoy the sight of more academy products plying their trade for the first team at the Cardiff City Stadium in the years to come.