"My gut feeling is" - Cardiff City, Alex Robertson transfer prediction issued as Portsmouth FC and others circle | OneFootball

FLW's Cardiff City fan pundit weighed in on the future of star midfielder Alex Robertson, who has reported interest from up to 12 Championship clubs

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...

Alex Robertson is the latest player to be tipped with a potential move away from Cardiff City this summer after the Bluebirds returned to League One for the first time in more than 20 years at the end of the 2024/25 Championship campaign by suffering relegation alongside Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle.

Robertson was acquired from Manchester City for an initial £1 million fee just last summer, which could eventually rise to £3 million if various add-on criteria are met, penning a four-year contract in the Welsh capital.

Cardiff beat off no shortage of interest in the talented midfielder, who, according to then-manager Erol Bulut, had six other Championship clubs in pursuit of his services.

One of those clubs was Portsmouth, where he had spent the previous season on loan and enjoyed a stunning first-half of the season before being ruled out with injury as John Mousinho's side won the League One title, though Robertson eventually snubbed a Fratton Park return in favour of joining Cardiff.

Mousinho claimed that Portsmouth pushed as hard as possible within their financial means to complete a deal but simply could not compete with Cardiff, although it has been reported that Robertson ultimately decided to join the Bluebirds after Pompey saw a bid accepted by Manchester City.

He would go on to catch the eye during his debut campaign in the Championship with Cardiff, posting four goals and three assists in all competitions across a largely-impressive term in spite of his side's relegation, although his performances did wane somewhat towards the end of the season.

Tipped to have a starring role in League One next time out, considering his previous exploits in English football's third-tier with Portsmouth and strong showings to date at Cardiff, it's little surprise that Robertson is the subject of reported interest following City's relegation.

According to a report by The News, Portsmouth - where the 22-year-old is willing to return this summer - are one of 12 Championship clubs interested in his signature, while unnamed suitors in the MLS and mainland Europe have also been linked.

It's said that Robertson is poised to undertake discussions with freshly-appointed Bluebirds head coach Brian Barry-Murphy, whom he formerly worked under at Man City, regarding his future as an outcome awaits.

Cardiff City backed to retain Alex Robertson amid transfer interest

FLW asked our resident Cardiff fan pundit, Matt Hall, whether he believes Robertson will remain a Bluebirds player come the start of the season or not.

Matt explained how his gut feeling is that the midfield maestro will stay put in South Wales owing to the fact that Cardiff - as revealed by chairman Mehmet Dalman - are not in a position where they need to sell assets in order to balance the books and compensate for the financial losses incurred by relegation, and also have the advantage of Robertson remaining under contract for another three years.

In Matt's view, Robertson is Cardiff's second-most sellable asset behind star striker Yousef Salech, who only joined in January, and he doesn't see the club cashing in just yet.

"Obviously there is interest in him, I don't think that will come as a surprise to any Cardiff fan," Matt told FLW.

"When you look at interest as an actual word, it's quite vague. When you look at his profile, he's a young technical player with a footballing academy background at Manchester City, and from a club that's just been relegated, he's quite a safe bet.

"So it's natural and it's no surprise that, given the data-driven way that clubs do things nowadays, he's come up on a hell of a lot of team's shortlists.

"However, of the interest, I think it's only Portsmouth and one or two others that are genuinely pursuing him. I think if you look at someone like Portsmouth, though, financially they're not at a massive advantage compared to other teams.

"With Robertson from our position, Mehmet Dalman has said we're under no pressure to sell assets this summer. If you look at Brian Barry-Murphy, he's come in and he's got control, he has got a say in the deals and you can't imagine he would be very happy at suddenly having to let Robertson go.

"You also have to look at the optics of things as well. For the chairman and manager to both say we don't need to sell anyone, only to sell your second-most sellable asset behind Yousef Salech, is not a good look. It doesn't inspire much confidence among the fans and I don't think it's needed.

"He has three years on his contract and we're not in a position where we need to sell. I think we're going to sell a few other experienced players, we've also let some players go on frees, so we have put ourselves in a better position financially.

"I don't see the point in selling him.

"My gut feeling is that he will stay, as well as him saying he would be happy to return to Portsmouth, he has said he's happy here and at the end of the day, you have to look back to the transfer - he chose us over Portsmouth when it was on an even playing field.

"So I don't quite buy into the idea that he will be leaving just yet."

Cardiff City can make League One statement of intent by resisting Alex Robertson transfer interest

It is, of course, no surprise that Robertson has suitors, and while many differ from Matt's viewpoint and expect him to leave Cardiff this summer, the Bluebirds are in a strong position and can negotiate any potential sale entirely on their terms.

But considering their stance on not selling assets, Robertson really should be kept at all costs. More than capable of holding his own in the Championship, the Man City academy graduate will surely be nothing short of a sensation at League One level - just as he was for Portsmouth two seasons ago.

Retaining his services in the third-tier would mark an undoubted statement of intent by Cardiff, who could show they're not messing about and have every intention of returning to the Championship at the first attempt as a much stronger force than the side which sleepwalked to relegation last term under Bulut, Omer Riza and briefly Aaron Ramsey.