Cardiff City closing in on appointing former Manchester City coach in Vincent Tan manager hunt | OneFootball

The club have held advanced talks with the Leicester City assistant

In the hunt for a new manager, Cardiff City have reportedly progressed talks with Leicester City assistant Brian Barry-Murphy.

The Irish coach spent a number of years in Manchester City’s well-regarded academy setup, before moving over to the Foxes towards the end of 2024.

It would be his senior management posting since his spell with Rochdale, which ran from April 2019 until June 2021.

Cardiff have been in search of a new boss since sacking Omer Riza and not agreeing a permanent contract with interim manager Aaron Ramsey.

Cardiff City find new top target in Brian Barry Barry-Murphy

BBC Sport Wales revealed that the 46-year-old has become the leading candidate for the vacancy, with former Oxford United boss Des Buckingham thought to rank highly in the Bluebirds’ thoughts at one point.

It was widely reported that Cardiff wanted current Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones, who got promoted from League One with the Addicks at the end of the season.

Despite Cardiff swapping places with them in the third tier after a torrid Championship season, the Welsh club hoped to cash in on the fact that Jones is a lifelong Cardiff fan, but that dream was squashed when Charlton announced they’d managed to tie him down to a new five-year deal.

Barry-Murphy is now the name at the top of the list, but there may be some concerns given his substantial absence from first-team management.

Brian Barry-Murphy will be something of a gamble for Cardiff City

The Cork-born coach’s last, and currently only, senior posting was the manager’s job at Rochdale.

He lasted there for 105 games, a significant run, but departed in 2021 as the club were relegated to League Two.

The Dale had issues far beyond the control of Barry-Murphy, later dropping out of the Football League entirely, but he still does not boast the experience of previous targets like Jones.

His spell in the City setup will certainly be of interest, holding similar roles to that of Enzo Maresca, who went on to win the Championship title with Leicester before being recruited by Chelsea.

Bringing an end to Cardiff City's management saga is important

Whether it’s Barry-Murphy who takes the hot seat or someone else, Bluebirds fans will simply be eager to get the saga over and done with.

Already dealing with a relegation, a drawn-out recruitment drive is doing nothing for the confidence of fans, and could well seep into the new season.

It is difficult to scout, attract and recruit players with no idea who is going to be managing them next season, and as the transfer window progress, the best deals get snapped up and those left get more expensive.

Cardiff are dropping into the third tier for the first time in over two decades; they must ensure they give themselves the best chance of bouncing back quickly, and acting decisively to appoint a new manager is undoubtedly the first step towards that.