Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Thursday, March 31.
AC Milan make contact over Bale
AC Milan chief Paolo Maldini has reportedly required about the potential availability of Gareth Bale this summer.
The Wales captain's contract with Real Madrid runs out this summer, leading many to speculate over where his future will lie. His agent, Jonathan Barnett, has said that no concrete decision will be made until after Wales' World Cup play-off final, set to take place in June against either Ukraine or Scotland.
READ MORE: The 10 Cardiff City signings that made absolutely no sense whatsoever
Cardiff City have been mentioned by some as a potential destination, however the money side of things seems to be a major stumbling block given he is on an estimated £600,000 per week. Wales and Liverpool icon Ian Rush, however, doesn't think the idea is so silly.
But Sport Italia and Calciomercato journalist Rudy Galetti claims that Italian giants Milan have at least asked the question pertaining to his situation ahead of the summer. Could a move to Italy be on the cards? Cardiff fans will hope not...
Blake: Colwill will be a top-four Premier League player
Former Cardiff City and Wales striker Nathan Blake believes that Rubin Colwill will go to the very top of the game in this country.
Colwill has enjoyed another positive season, top scoring for his club and earning international honours - as well as notching his first Wales goal against Czech Republic on Tuesday night.
He has caught the eye on more than one occasion this term and Blake believes the 19-year-old will eventually end up at one of the best clubs in the country.
"I can see him at a top club - a top four or five team," he told the BBC. "He has a football intelligence. He is a smooth player, he does and sees things other players do not.
"So just keep playing him. If he can come and produce this kind of performance at international level, you can't tell me he's not good enough for the Championship."
Steve Morison has been reluctant to play the teenager week in, week out, believing there is more than one way to aid a player's development. Morison has previously cited Phil Foden's progress at Manchester City and how he was managed by Pep Guardiola.
While there are still things, especially off the ball, Colwill can work on, he keeps producing moments and displays which make him impossible to ignore. Speaking about the player's performance at Cardiff City Stadium for Wales earlier this week, Blake added: "I'm always impressed with him - but it was a really good performance that will boost his confidence.
"I just hope when he goes back to his club, the manager gives him that confidence to go on because the boy can produce absolute wonders. I don't like to see this clipping of wings with young players. He's a good size, a good stature, can score goals. You have to play him - let him play."
Cardiff agents' fees released
Cardiff City paid more than £1.4m in agents' fees in the last two transfer windows, it has been revealed.
During those two windows, at senior level at least, Cardiff have signed only James Collins, Mark McGuinness and Ryan Wintle on a permanent basis. They have, however, sanctioned loan deals for Ryan Giles, Jordan Hugill, Tommy Doyle, Cody Drameh, Uche Ikpeazu and Alfie Doughty. There was also a very short-term deal for Marley Watkins, who was essentially signed on a trial basis for a month.
To put that into some sort of context, Cardiff are the ninth on the list, with Fulham coming out clearly on top of the billing with a whopping £10m outlay on agents and intermediary fees. West Brom are next with an agency expenditure of £4.1m, Sheffield United with £3.6m, Bournemouth with £3.5m, then Stoke City with £3.4m.
The full list, as revealed by the FA, is below...
AFC Bournemouth - £3,505,603
Barnsley - £505,640
Birmingham City - £1,253,633
Blackburn Rovers - £1,059,338
Blackpool - £368,515
Bristol City - £1,392,048
Cardiff City - £1,459,333
Coventry City - £833,482
Derby County £748,889
Fulham - £10,160,399
Huddersfield Town - £1,395,768
Hull City - £242,986
Luton Town - £564,162
Middlesbrough -£1,579,801
Millwall - £1,022,311
Nottingham Forest - £2,388,090
Peterborough United - £311,280
Preston - £1,047,671
QPR - £925,162
Reading - £876,330
Sheffield United - £3,571,417
Stoke City - £3,400,617
Swansea City - £1,617,579
West Brom - £4,148,886
Robin Friday to be remembered
Former Reading and Cardiff City cult hero Robin Friday will be remembered when the two sides meet on Saturday, April 9.
Friday, who made his name playing for the Royals before joining the Bluebirds at the end of 1976, would have turned 70 this year and is fondly remembered by fans of both sets of clubs. His iconic 'flicking the V' celebration is one of the all-time great photographs in Cardiff City's history.
"We're delighted to be welcoming the family of the late, great Robin Friday as our guests of honour when we take on Cardiff on Sat 9 April," Reading wrote on Twitter.
"Robin would have turned 70 in July and his grandchildren will deliver the match ball ahead of kick-off against the Bluebirds."
Alongside a photo of an iconic goal celebration while playing for Reading, they added: "The game will also mark exactly 47 years to the day since this iconic policeman-kissing goal celebration from the club’s cult hero!"
Friday scored 46 goals in 121 games for Reading and six in 21 for the Bluebirds. The troubled former footballer, who had problems with the law and with drugs, died of a suspected heart attack in 1990 aged just 38.
Bluebirds to extend recruitment reach
Cardiff City are looking to broaden their recruitment horizons ahead of a huge summer for the Welsh capital city club.
As many as 10 first-team players see their contracts expire, while five players who are currently on loan will return to their parent club, leaving a huge hole to fill. Insiders at the club, however, insist that that it is a challenge that they are looking forward to with excitement, rather than trepidation.
And the Bluebirds are looking to make this summer even more fruitful than the incredibly successful January window. In order to do that, there is a push to expand the recruitment department's reach.
Due to the crowded UK marketplace, largely owing to Brexit rules on player registration, Cardiff want to utilise more untapped areas. They want more eyes on Non-League football, which has become far more doable now with the advent and progress of video analysis, where they think there are hidden gems. The signing of Jai Semenyo from Mangotsfield United is testament to that - the right back is a player for whom the club have high hopes. But, also, they want to expand their horizons abroad.
The Bluebirds' senior squad has only one player from outside the UK and Ireland and that is Dutch-born Curacao international Leandro Bacuna, who in all likelihood could leave the club this summer. But Cardiff are expected to cast their net into the foreign market now in countries such as Germany, France and Holland. You can read about it more in-depth here.
