Cardiff City should plot Liverpool FC transfer - Bluebirds can offer career restart | OneFootball

Kaide Gordon endured a tough 2024/25 season in the Championship and is in desperate need of a reset

Kaide Gordon's first season on loan away from Liverpool was a disaster, as the 20-year-old struggled for the game time a youngster desperately needs.

The winger was initially loaned out to Norwich City for the entire season, which was an exciting prospect given the Canaries' rep for creating plenty of chances compared to their Championship rivals.

However, Gordon couldn't dislodge the in-form Borja Sainz or the new £8.5 million Croatian winger Ante Crnac from Johannes Hoff Thorup's lineup, starting just once in a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

Arne Slot's side recalled him in January and sent him back out on loan to another second-tier side. Still, his time at Portsmouth was arguably even worse, being left on the bench for eight of the 16 games he spent at Fratton Park and making just five appearances from the bench.

The 20-year-old's progression has been stunted massively over the past 12 months, and his standing to return to Liverpool and make more of an impact in the first team has been impacted greatly.

Another loan move is needed, and whilst the exciting winger clearly has Championship quality within, a move to a League One side with guaranteed game time may be wiser. If this ends up being the case, then Brian Barry-Murphy's Cardiff City should be at the top of his wishlist.

Cardiff City's youth-centred approach would benefit Kaide Gordon

The average age of Cardiff's team in their opening weekend win against Peterborough United was 23. 28-year-old Ryan Wintle was the only player in Barry-Murphy's starting eleven over the age of 23, and four of his starters were under 21.

Under Barry-Murphy, the Bluebirds seem to be in a new era where the main focus is on developing young talent, an area in which the 47-year-old head coach has plenty of experience, having overseen Manchester City's Academy for three years between 2021 and 2024, before he joined Leicester City as a first-team coach.

Eight players aged 28 or over departed the Cardiff City Stadium this past summer, further stamping home the point that there's a new style in the Welsh capital, and if the performances mirror what was seen in their 2-1 win over Posh, then Cardiff fans are in for an exciting season.

Premier League sides will have had an eye on Saturday lunchtime's game to see how these young talents performed under Barry-Murphy, and the set-up would arguably entice them to send players to Cardiff on loan to develop, if they don't feel that they are completely ready to take on the Championship.

So, both Liverpool and Gordon himself should be excited about that prospect. With Ollie Tanner as the club's only natural right-winger, Cardiff may be in for another in that position before the end of the window.

The 20-year-old would not only provide quality depth for Barry-Murphy's side throughout a long League One campaign, but he'd be hungry to take that starting spot off of Tanner and make the third-tier promotion hopefuls even better on the pitch.

Kaide Gordon is in desperate need of a reset - a League One move could provide that

Gordon wasn't given much time to impress in the Championship, but he showed in bursts that he could keep up with the pace of the second-tier at times.

Another loan move seems likely this summer for the 20-year-old, but a return to the Championship could prove too risky, as Gordon really doesn't need a repeat of last year's frustrations at not getting into the starting eleven regularly.

Therefore, a move to League One instead would give the Liverpool winger the opportunity to prove himself against lesser opposition, whilst still having that pressure to perform week in, week out, for a side challenging near the top of the third tier in a competitive, youthful squad.

And, with Barry-Murphy's track record of developing young stars, there arguably isn't a better League One side than Cardiff for an exciting prospect.