EFL expert urges Cardiff City to capitalise on big Hull City, Ruben Selles development | OneFootball

Cardiff City have been urged to appoint Ruben Selles following his sacking from Hull City

Cardiff City are currently undertaking a search for a new, permanent successor to Omer Riza after he was relieved of his duties last month, just a week before the Bluebirds were relegated to League One with one game left to spare of the 2024/25 Championship campaign.

Riza was Cardiff's ninth permanent managerial appointment since the start of 2021, serving as the latest casualty of an frequent turnover conducted by controversial owner Vincent Tan. Few, of course, could dispute the decision to dismiss Riza, who left Cardiff in too damning and desperate a predicament for caretaker boss Aaron Ramsey to realistically rescue the side with just three matches left to play at the time of his temporary induction into the dugout.

Getting the next appointment right, however, is crucial ahead of the club's first third-tier campaign in more than 20 years. Cardiff were linked with a move for Salford City boss Karl Robinson, while renowned global sporting agency Wasserman have been enlisted to devise a shortlist of candidates for the club's hierarchy - namely Tan alongside Mehmet Dalman and Ken Choo - to consider.

Supporters are desperate to see the club's constant churning of managers quelled, with a more sustainable, ambitious and progressive appointment deemed as ideal to help stop Cardiff's current direction of travel and put them on course to return to the Championship at the very first attempt.

Although the likes of Des Buckingham and Nathan Jones have both represented popular potential candidates among the fanbase in recent weeks, there is one name now emerging as, many will argue, the perfect new boss to take the reins in the Welsh capital.

Cardiff City urged to appoint Ruben Selles following Hull City sacking

Cardiff have been urged to capitalise on Hull City's controversial decision to sack head coach Ruben Selles shortly after he secured survival on the final day by virtue of goal difference, having first taken over when the Tigers were in the relegation zone at the time of his arrival at the MKM Stadium from Reading back in December.

Both supporters and pundits alike believe that Selles, who was reportedly a contender to take the Cardiff job before moving to Hull amid the club's search for a successor to Erol Bulut, should be the leading candidate in Tan's mind.

This view is echoed by EFL expert George Elek of the Not The Top 20 podcast, who, speaking before Selles' sacking was officially confirmed on the podcast's latest episode, explained how the Spaniard's success with Reading under dire off-pitch circumstances and style of play would make him a top appointment for the Bluebirds.

"The one manager I think has to be looked at is Ruben Selles, who, reports suggest, is soon to be sacked from Hull," Elek said.

"He did an incredible job at Reading. You probably wouldn't find many managers in the whole of the country who did a better job than Selles.

"Coming into a side with a points deduction in League One, who couldn't sign any players for much of it, he had to bring through young players from the academy who probably weren't ready for first-team football.

"He delivered safety after that points deduction and then had them on the brink of the play-offs in really trying circumstances before he moved on to take his chance at Hull, where he took over a side in the relegation zone. Even though it was close, he delivered them to safety.

"He's bright, he plays a really aggressive out-of-possession style of football, and there's no way Hull City should be looking to move on and they should've learned from their mistake last year with Liam Rosenior.

"Now, Selles will probably have his admirers in the Championship and abroad, too. But in my mind, he's probably best suited going to a club like Cardiff with a decent budget who are looking to deliver promotion rather than going back into another club where it's saving relegation, it's firefighting.

"I'd be amazed if the hierarchy at Cardiff aren't looking at Selles. I think he looks like the outstanding candidate for so many jobs that are open right now.

"It might be ambitious, it might be difficult, but they have to consider him."

Ruben Selles' ability to work with young players would suit Cardiff City

Although it was borne from necessity owing to Reading's threadbare squad and inability to complete transfers, Selles showed an impressive ability to work with, manage and progress young players during his time at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

As far as Cardiff are concerned, that should be deemed as a thoroughly attractive factor.

The young potential core of the squad, built up of both academy graduates and players who have joined the club as part of a more youth-centred approach to recruitment in recent times, has been a rather-premium source of consolation and optimism to supporters, who are under little illusion of the foundations that can be implemented in League One to deliver success for years to come.

Cardiff have defensive options in Will Fish, Joel Bagan, Luey Giles, Dylan Lawlor, Ronan Kpakio.

In midfield, meanwhile, they can call upon Alex Robertson and Eli King alongside Rubin and Joel Colwill, and have attacking options such as Ollie Tanner, Roko Simic, Isaak Davies, Tanatswa Nyakuhwa, Cian Ashford and, of course, star striker Yousef Salech.

Importantly, all of those players are under the age of 24. The likes of Bagan, Fish, Robertson, Rubin Colwill, Tanner, Davies, Ashford and Salech are already staples of the first-team, but fans will be expecting many prospects to come up from the academy into the senior picture in the not-too-distant future.

Selles, then, could be the perfect man to capitalise on Cardiff's internal pool of talent and get the very best out of the young, promising assets waiting in the wings.