Cardiff City

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Darren Purse has left his role as manager of Cardiff City Under-21s to become manager of Sligo Rovers.

The former defender will spearhead the bid to avoid relegation from the League of Ireland Premier Division, with Sligo five points from safety with 12 games left.

Purse has signed an 18-month contract to replace John Russell after he left last week for rivals Shelbourne.

"It's a really good football club, and one I'm looking forward to taking places," said Purse.

"You can have a long-term plan as much as you want, but the big thing for us is winning games over the next 12 and staying in this division."

Purse spent four years as a player at Cardiff between 2005 and 2009, making 123 appearances, and returned as an academy coach in December 2021.

The former skipper played a leading role in the development of a raft of young players that helped Brian Barry-Murphy's first team secure an immediate return to the Championship as League One runners-up.

Matthew Bloxham has taken charge of Cardiff's under-21s, assisted by head of academy coaching Dane Facey, while the club search for a permanent replacement.

"We're sad to lose Darren as our under-21s lead coach," said academy manager Gavin Chesterfield.

"His tireless worth ethic and selfless approach to player development means he can be very proud of the impact he has made upon our players and culture."

Sligo are a point back on Waterford, who have had an upturn in fortunes under former Newport County boss Graham Coughlan, and five points from safety.

As things stand, Sligo would drop out of the Irish top flight and Waterford would play in a promotion/relegation play-off.

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Brian Barry-Murphy has reiterated that Cardiff City rising star Rob Tankiewicz must continue to improve following his starring role in Tuesday's pre-season win over Cork City.

Tankiewicz, 17, scored a second half brace as the Bluebirds battered the League of Ireland First Division side 6-1 in their second summer friendly.

The Wales youth international temporarily became Cardiff's youngest player last season after debuting aged 16 years and 117 days before team-mate Axel Donczew (15 years and 234 days) pipped him to the accolade 64 minutes later.

Tankiewicz made one further senior appearance for Cardiff last season, as a sub against Northampton in April, before earning an opportunity to impress in pre-season.

The midfielder has done exactly that, and earned praise from manager Barry-Murphy after scoring twice within 12 minutes against Cork.

"Robert is a very young player, with a good mentality and a good feeling of when to arrive into the box and score goals," Barry-Murphy told Cardiff's official website.

"As always with an inexperienced player, it's about trying to give [them] the idea of when to arrive and the feeling of what's most important; scoring goals.

"He's improving a lot, but he knows how much work he has to do to be the player that we want him to be."

Tankiewicz signed professional terms with Cardiff in June. The club have not specified the length of the contract.

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Brian Barry-Murphy is pleased with Cardiff City's application in pre-season but insisted his side remain "nowhere near" where they want to be.

The Bluebirds beat League of Ireland First Division side Cork City 6-1 in their second summer friendly, bouncing back from their heavy defeat to FC Midtjylland.

Callum Robinson opened the scoring on Tuesday evening before braces from Isaak Davies and Rob Tankiewicz, and a late Yousef Salech strike.

Cardiff, who are preparing for their return to the Championship, fielded a different line-up in each half and Barry-Murphy was pleased by their endeavour.

"The main objective for us was to get everybody through 45 minutes each, increasing fitness levels as much as possible," the head coach told Cardiff's website.

"I'm very pleased with the application of the players here and very hopeful the game exposure we've had over the past four days will improve us a lot.

"The energy in the team, the application to improve physically was probably the most important part.

"I'm not just saying it for the sake of it, we are nowhere near where we want to be and I see that as a positive.

"[This was] another small step towards where we know we have to be from the start of the season.

"It's a very intense period of pre-season as we now go through the gears of footballing content. I will look to try and get up a level in the next days."

Cardiff will round out their pre-season preparations with a friendlies against National League outfit Forest Green Rovers and Italian giants AS Roma.

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Cardiff City stormed to a 6-1 win at Cork City as their build-up to their return to the Championship continued on Tuesday night.

Brian Barry-Murphy, whose playing career began at the Rebel Army, saw his former side overwhelmed after a slow start for the Bluebirds.

Callum Robinson opened the scoring after 40 minutes and that was how it stayed until the break.

The visitors completely changed their line-up for the second period that began with Denzell Obenge's equaliser for the hosts.

But after that, Cardiff dominated with a brace each for Isaak Davies and Rob Tankiewicz before Yousef Salech completed the rout.

It was a welcome outcome for Cardiff after being hammered 6-0 in their pre-season opener at Danish side FC Midtjylland.

Cardiff are next in action at Forest Green Rovers on Saturday, 25 July before hosting Italian giants AS Roma seven days later.

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Cardiff City continue their pre-season campaign at Cork City on Tuesday (19:45 BST) with boss Brian Barry-Murphy acknowledging they have a lot of work to do before competitive football returns next month.

Barry-Murphy will lead Cardiff in his home city as the Bluebirds face a Cork side currently top of the League of Ireland First Division, the nation's second tier.

While it is still early in pre-season, Cardiff will hope for an encouraging evening at the Turner's Cross Stadium having lost 6-0 to Danish side FC Midtjylland in their opening friendly on Saturday.

Barry-Murphy's team begin the new season with a Carabao Cup tie against Swindon on Saturday, 8 August before their Championship campaign starts with a home fixture against Wrexham nine days later.

"Nobody is under any illusions about the amount of work we are going to need before we get anywhere near the season," Barry-Murphy said.

"But that's very exciting for us because we feel as if we have a squad who can improve, and throughout the course of pre-season we hope to add to the squad and improve it.

"We are very clear on how much work we have to do and we are very willing to do it."

Barry-Murphy began his playing career with Cork in 1995 before moving to Preston North End four years later.

Cork, who are managed by former Middlesbrough and Scotland midfielder Barry Robson, relinquished a nine-match winning run by losing 4-3 at home to Longford Town last Friday.

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Brian Barry-Murphy has suggested Nathan Trott, Rubin Colwill and Dylan Lawlor are not serious injury concerns despite the trio sitting out Cardiff City's opening pre-season friendly.

Goalkeeper Trott has a groin problem and midfielder Colwill has an ankle injury.

Centre-back Lawlor has been nursing what Barry-Murphy described as a "knee issue" since returning from international duty with Wales last month.

The 20-year-old played 67 minutes of Wales' draw with Ghana on 2 June (pictured above) but was not involved in the defeat in Romania four days later because of the injury.

Lawlor, Colwill and Trott were absent as Cardiff were thumped by FC Midtjylland, but Barry-Murphy said: "All those players are in a pretty good place and we just didn't want to take any risks with them at this stage."

Cardiff play their second pre-season game at Cork City on Tuesday.

Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy says Cardiff City will benefit from playing high quality opposition after the Bluebirds lost 6-0 to Danish side FC Midtjylland in their opening pre-season friendly.

Cardiff's next warm-up game is away at Cork City on Tuesday as they build towards the new Championship season.

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Cardiff City's pre-season preparations will step up a notch when they face FC Midtjylland in their first summer friendly on Saturday (12:30 BST).

The Bluebirds take on the Danish outfit at the Cardiff City Stadium before travelling for a training camp in Cork, the home city of boss Brian Barry-Murphy.

Cardiff are gearing up for their return to the Championship having bounced back from relegation by winning promotion from League One last season.

Midtjylland finished second in the Danish top flight in 2025-26.

The four-time Danish champions play their fourth summer friendly as they prepare for a Europa League qualifier against Turkish giants Besiktas later this month.

Cardiff defender Perry Ng, who signed a new two-year deal with the club in May, is excited to get back on the pitch in front of home fans at such an early stage of pre-season.

"We look good - everyone looks sharp. It's been a good week," Ng told the Cardiff website.

"It will be a bit strange, playing our first pre-season fixture in front of fans at the stadium. It's good to get back to proper games as soon as possible. They've got a big game [coming up] in the Europa League. It will be a tough test."

Cardiff begin the 2026-27 season with a home Carabao Cup tie against League Two Swindon Town on Saturday, 8 August (15:00 BST) before hosting Wrexham in a blockbuster Championship opener on Monday, 17 August (20:00 BST).

Barry-Murphy's team will also face League of Ireland First Division side Cork City, National League outfit Forest Green Rovers and Italian giants AS Roma during pre-season this summer.

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Cardiff City Women have made Welsh centre-back Ella Hilliard their first signing of the summer.

Hilliard, 22, was at Cardiff as a teenager before spells at Bristol City, Derby County, Gwalia United and Bristol Rovers.

The former Wales Under-19 international is Adran Premier side Cardiff's first signing of the summer.

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Cardiff City have confirmed that their season-opening Carabao Cup tie against Swindon Town will be played on Saturday, 8 August (15:00 BST).

The first-round game comes a week after Cardiff's final pre-season game, at home to Italian giants AS Roma, and nine days before the new Championship campaign begins with a home fixture against Wrexham.

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Former Cardiff City and Newport County striker Michael Reindorf has signed for National League South club Farnborough.

Reindorf was a free agent after being released by Cardiff at the end of last season.

The 21-year-old made four senior appearances for the Bluebirds, while he scored once in 22 games during a loan spell at Newport County last season.

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Two more of Cardiff City's early-season fixtures have been selected for live TV coverage.

As a result, the Bluebirds' trip to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, 12 September will now kick off at 12:30pm.

The home game against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, 19 September will also kick off at the earlier time of 12:30 BST.

Cardiff's opening league game of 2026-27, against Wrexham, had previously been selected as one of the main Sky Sports games on the first weekend of the season, hence it will be played on Monday, 17 August (20:00 BST).

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Cardiff City have signed 20-year-old Aston Villa defender Thierry Katsukunya.

The centre-back will join up with Darren Purse's under-21 squad and is Cardiff's first summer addition at that level.

Katsukunya has represented Wales from under-18s to under-21 level, though he is also eligible to play for Zimbabwe.

He spent last season on loan with Spanish fourth-tier side Real Union Club, scoring once in 17 appearances.

Katsukunya's arrival follows the signing of 16-year-old midfielder Cass Machin, who moved to Cardiff's academy from Manchester City earlier this week.

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Three of Cardiff City's senior players are training with the Under-21s as the players return for the start of pre-season.

Roko Simic, Jesper Daland and Kion Etete have been absent from the first team as the Bluebirds prepare for life back in the Championship.

Manager Brian Barry-Murphy's transfer mantra has always been "quality over quantity" and the Irishman has chosen to keep a relatively small squad despite their promotion from League One.

Simic, a Croatia Under-21 international, signed for Cardiff in August 2024 under manager Erol Bulut for £2m from Red Bull Salzburg.

He has never made an appearance for City and spent last season on loan at Karlsruher SC in Germany's second tier.

Daland, a Norway Under-21 international, signed for Cardiff during the same transfer window from Belgian Pro League's Cercle Brugge.

He played once under Barry-Murphy on the opening day of the League One season, before following Simic on a loan to Germany's second tier with Fortuna Dusseldorf - who got relegated to Germany's 3 Liga.

Etete, a once promising young signing from Tottenham Hotspur, has struggled to make an impact with the Bluebirds during his tenure, scoring nine goals in 63 games.

After three loan spells away from Cardiff at Bolton Wanderers, Rotherham United and Scotland's St Mirren, it seems increasingly likely that he, along with Daland and Simic will not be a part of Barry-Murphy's plans this season.

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Nathan Blake says Cardiff City's crop of youngsters must prove they can make the step up to the Championship next season.

The youthful Bluebirds secured automatic promotion from League One last season after finishing second with an impressive tally of 91 points.

But ex-Wales striker Blake says it remains to be seen how Cardiff's crop of younger players fare in the second tier.

"Cardiff are a young, vibrant, very good footballing team," said Blake.

"But the question still remains, can those players do it at the level above?"

Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy caught the eye after giving many academy products a first-team chance during an impressive first campaign in charge.

Having been named head coach at the Cardiff City Stadium last summer, Barry-Murphy transformed the mood at a club who had just suffered relegation.

"Cardiff getting relegated [meant Cardiff] brought in a very good manager who did the opposite to what every other manager has done at the club," Blake added.

"He brought through a group of youngsters on top of a couple of others who are already established, signed a few experienced players and looked to have a really good recipe for success, and it worked.

"The question is now can that crop of youngsters go and do it against a better level of winger, striker, defender, attacker?"

Former Cardiff City striker turned BBC Sport Wales pundit Nathan Blake looks ahead to the new Championship season.

Blake discusses Cardiff's fixtures and their transfer needs and whether the young players who helped the Bluebirds win promotion from League One last season can thrive at a higher level.

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Former Wales international striker Nathan Blake says Wrexham and Cardiff "couldn't ask for a bigger game" as they face each other on the opening weekend of the new Championship season.

The Bluebirds welcome the Red Dragons to the Cardiff City Stadium on the 17 August, the first Welsh derby of the 2026-27 campaign.

The sides met last in last season's Carabao Cup fourth round at the Stok Cae Ras, with Cardiff claiming a 2-1 win.

Ex-Cardiff player Blake says there will the pressure will be on his old club to deliver as they return to the second tier following promotion last term.

"You couldn't ask for a bigger fixture if you're Cardiff or Wrexham," said Blake.

"But it's a tough game for Cardiff I think more than Wrexham. You want to start the season positively, you want to start it with a win, but there is more pressure on if you're at home.

"With Wrexham travelling away from home, there's less pressure."

The encounter will be the first in the league between both sides since a third-tier meeting in 2002, when Cardiff ran out 3-2 winners.

Wrexham will be aiming to dust themselves off after missing out on the play-offs on the final day of last season, while Cardiff will aim to maintain momentum following promotion.

"It's a derby so everything goes out of the window," added Blake.

"Wrexham are the more experienced side and they should finish higher than Cardiff this year.

"But we are yet to see what both teams are going to end up with next season when the transfer window closes. It's really interesting and it's a great fixture to open the season with."

Portsmouth are now favourites to win the race to sign Estonian midfielder Rocco Shein. Cardiff City and Millwall have also shown interest in the 22-year-old who currently plays for Fredrikstad in the Norwegian top flight. (Fredrikstad Blad - in Norwegian), external

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