Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Sunday, July 10.
Bagan: Promotion the aim
Cardiff City left-back Joel Bagan says the Bluebirds' are aiming to gain promotion to the Premier League this coming season.
The Bluebirds spent much of last season battling against relegation to League One before undertaking a gargantuan recruitment drive over the summer, one which isn't yet finished.
And while most fans will likely see the upcoming 12 months as a transition period, the 20-year-old has set his sights high as he prepares to head into the season.
READ MORE: Cardiff City fans are all saying the same thing about two new signings after first Bluebirds outings
“The main [target] is to improve from last season,” he told Pundit Arena. “I want to want to try and play more games than what I did last year, and hopefully win a few more games than we did.
“That’s the main one, just being in the team, playing well, and hopefully, we can now look for promotion. That’s the main goal.”
Bagan hit a rich vein of form when he scored three goals in three games for the Bluebirds earlier this year. He found his shooting boots again against Cambridge United on Saturday in the club's first pre-season friendly, too, netting one of City's three goals in their 3-2 win.
He hopes to kick on again this upcoming season, something he thinks is possible because of this new-found trust which has been placed in the youth at the club in recent years.
“When I first came in, Neil Warnock was in charge, and I remember doing a few training sessions,” he added. “There wasn’t as many young boys playing first-team than there is now, but there was still a few boys training.
“That gave me a platform and a way to where we I am now. I think there are a lot of young boys in Cardiff now who are my age or a year above me. It does make it easier to be around the first team when you’ve got the boys you’ve grown up with and done a scholarship with.
“You can see that it is working now [the youth policy at Cardiff]. Some of the older boys, what they’ve said that they’ve never seen so many youngsters in the team.
“We’re all getting good minutes as well. So I think it shows that (Steve Morison) trusts us.”
Morison admits 'more bodies' needed
Cardiff boss Steve Morison has also confirmed the club are working hard behind the scenes to add to the 10 new signings they have already brought in this summer.
Cardiff played two different teams in each half against the U's on Saturday, operating in a 4-3-3 system, with seven new signings on show, albeit briefly in Ebou Adams' case, which you can read more about here.
But there are set to be more new faces over the coming weeks. Striker and centre-back are positions in which City are looking to strengthen further and Morison hopes they can get their new signings through the door in a timely manner.
"Today was 4-3-3 and that was the best way for me to get two exact XI's on the pitch and as many round pegs in round holes as I could," he said after the game on Saturday.
"We know we need to add a couple more bodies. We're working on doing that. But it's more a case of with the ball and without the ball. Without the ball we were excellent with the press. With the ball we were okay. So we need to get better.
"I thought everyone put a good shift in and everyone performed well."
Zimba on target for Newport
Chanka Zimba found the back of the net for Newport County in their friendly win over Hungerford Town.
The striker sealed a season-long loan to the League Two side, where he has linked up with ex-Cardiff first-team coach James Rowberry, and will hope to kick on after a frustrating spell with Northampton Town which was blighted by injury.
But a confidence-boosting goal will surely do him some good as he prepares to play a big part in the Exiles' push for promotion out of League Two this season.
Elsewhere, Kieron Evans also made his first appearance for Torquay United in their pre-season friendly against Buckland Athletic on Friday.
Eli King's bullish 'aggressive' claim
Young Bluebirds midfielder Eli King believes the make-up of Cardiff's new-look side will allow them to be a far more "aggressive" outfit this season.
"The core fundamentals are the same, we have always wanted to be aggressive and do that within a good structure," King said after the match on Saturday.
"We have definitely got the players to be aggressive, get at them and run all over them. I think that's something you can expect from the team."
King forced his way into contention last season, starting against Liverpool at Anfield before a few more regular outings in the league at the back end of the campaign. City have brought in Andy Rinomhota and Ebou Adams, to add to the existing stable of Joe Ralls and Ryan Wintle, and it now looks an incredibly-competitive area of the squad.
However, for King, the aim is the same. He said: "The goal is to work myself into the team, that's never going to change no matter how many players come in.
"It's been good. We have loads of new faces and we've gelled really well. Our time away in Scotland was really good to get that cohesion. Hopefully that'll be in pre-season and at the start of the season as well."
Speaking about what he can bring to the team specifically, he added: "Someone that can help get control of the game on the ball in possession, be aggressive out of possession as well. Be a bit of an all-rounder, lead, speak, get everything going."
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