Here are the latest Cardiff City headlines on Saturday, April 16.
Bielsa exit spells chance for Drameh
Marcelo Bielsa's exit from Leeds United makes Cardiff City loanee Cody Drameh's return this summer appear a little rosier and he could even get a second chance at Elland Road.
The 20-year-old - reported as a £1 million prospect - has burnt no bridges but he appeared to anger Bielsa when opting for a loan during the January transfer window instead of staying and taking advantage of others' injuries. Bielsa said at the time: "I did not think he needed to play games elsewhere. He was a player who was very necessary with all of the absences we have. He preferred to go and play outside of Leeds.
"In a situation where opportunities for youngsters has increased clearly, in this case, Drameh would prefer to experiment outside our team. What I imagined as a great opportunity, he imagined it in a different way. Clearly, I calculated things wrongly."
While some may have thought such comments could have spelt the end of Drameh's chances of playing for Leeds again, he now has a clean slate to work with and is bolstered by such a strong loan outing for the Bluebirds. He has started all 16 matches he has been available for, completing 90 minutes in all but one of them and made himself one of the best players at the club with barely a third of a campaign under his belt.
The England U21 international will have options this summer, our sister title Leeds Live report, and barring undisclosed clauses in the contract he still has two years to run and Leeds are under no pressure to sell or loan him out in 2022/23. Constructive talks are surely expected between Leeds director of football Victor Orta, head coach Jesse Marsch, Drameh and his representatives this summer. His performances in the Welsh capital will have only emboldened what Orta and Craig Dean, the club’s head of emerging talent, believed when they worked so hard to bring him in from Fulham in August 2020.
Cardiff boss Steve Morison has already admitted he has fielded calls from top club managers about Drameh and Manchester City's Tommy Doyle, saying: "Unfortunately, they have come on loan to us, him and Cody, for example, and done so well, no doubt people will be looking at the other end of the table to us. They will be looking and thinking, 'imagine what they could be doing in our team!' I've had phone calls from managers higher up the table on both of them players, asking what they are like as characters, etc."
Madine commits to Blackpool
Former Cardiff City striker Gary Madine has put pen to paper on a new one-year deal at Blackpool, with the option to extend by another year.
The former Bolton Wanderers man, 31, was due to see his deal expire this summer although the Championship club had an option to extend.
"I’m delighted that the club has shown faith in me and asked me to stay for another year, potentially two," Madine said of his new deal, via the Blackpool Gazette.
"This is a club that is going in the right direction, and I really want to be part of it. This is a good fit for me. The staff and the lads are great and the fans seem to like me. I love everything about the place at the minute and I’m delighted to stay here."
Madine, who joined Blackpool in January 2020, has made 61 appearances for the club and netted 18 goals.
Cardiff City Women prepare for league season finale
Cardiff City FC Women travel to Aberystwyth Town’s Park Avenue in their final game of the Adran Premier season on Sunday afternoon (2pm kick-off). The Bluebirds will be looking to finish a positive league campaign on a high, with the club having amassed five more points already this term than last season's total.
City head into the contest after a fine performance at Cardiff City Stadium last time out, posing a constant threat in a 2-2 draw against Cardiff Metropolitan University. In the entertaining draw with the Archers, Zoe Atkins netted a clinical brace to take her tally up 12 in all competitions.
Opponents Aberystwyth Town have also enjoyed a season of progress, securing a place in the Championship Conference on the final day of Phase One. With the Seasiders showing significant improvement, the battles between the two sides this season have been competitive, but the Bluebirds have stepped up to record four victories over Sunday’s hosts in all competitions.
"This weekend’s going to be a really good opportunity for us,” head coach Iain Darbyshire said. “It gives us a chance to give some of our players some minutes and we’ll give chances to some of our U19s, so hopefully, that gives them a platform for next season. That’s what we’re aiming to do.
“It’s massively important that we go into the cup final with momentum. We want to win silverware this season and we know we have to go into next week in good form, so it’s important that the players who are going to be given minutes and the U19s players step up.”
