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Cardiff City transfer news as West Brom boss to make Cedric Kipre decision imminently and youngster has 'toughest season of his life'

Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Thursday, May 11.

Corberan to decide on Kipre after Cardiff loan

West Brom boss Carlos Corberan has said he will make a decision on the future of Cedric Kipre imminently after his impressive loan stint with the Bluebirds.

Very few, if any, Cardiff fans would turn down the prospect of having the central defender back next season, however he has one year left to run on his Baggies deal.

And a report today in The Telegraph suggests that West Brom are cutting their cloth this summer and may have to offload a few players again next season to trim down the budget. If that means getting Kipre off the wage bill for another year, Cardiff would snap their hand off.

READ MORE: What's actually happening at Cardiff City this week and the things that need sorting immediately

Speaking about Alex Mowatt, who went on loan to Middlesbrough, and Kipre, Corberan told our sister title BirminghamLive: "I will do this assessment at the end of the season when there are no games in the middle so I can look in detail. It's true that I know [Kipre]. When I was preparing for the game against Cardiff I was watching him. I know the minutes, I know when he plays and I know when he doesn't.

"He scored the goal at Rotherham and that's the most important thing that we can talk about, that he scored, no other aspect. The most important thing for me is what he is doing in the pitch. When you have one player on loan and he is doing well, you are happy

"The same with Mowatt - Mowatt has been playing for Middlesbrough in the last games, he has been involved and this is very positive for him to grow. The moment to evaluate them, and the possibilities of them in our club, is at the end of the season. That is not the holiday time, that is the time to make evaluations of aspects of next season."

Youngster had 'toughest season of his life'

Promising young Cardiff striker James Crole has branded last season the "toughest of his life" in an end-of-season social media post.

Crole, 19, was scoring goals for fun for the Bluebirds' under-21s side at the beginning of the campaign and ended up earning a move to Torquay United in the National League, where his team-mate Kieron Evans was shining.

But it wasn't the loan he was after. The youngster made the bench against Halifax before playing 30 minutes of the team's FA Trophy match against Taunton before suffering an ankle injury during his time with the Devon club.

When he returned to Cardiff, the injury was thought to be worse than was initially diagnosed by Torquay and it was decided he would stay with his parent club for treatment.

The Seagulls subsequently signed Lewis Collins from Newport County on loan as a late January replacement, resulting in Crole heading back to Cardiff to ensure his recovery went smoothly and, also, for him to get more game time with the club's under-21s.

"Toughest season of my life over, thank you to everyone who’s helped me get through it," Crole wrote on Instagram. "Time to reset and we go again in pre season."

The Wales youth international will hope a successful loan with first-team minutes under his belt will aid his progress next term.

Vincent Tan meets Cardiff City Women's team

Cardiff City Women's team, after a magnificent, undefeated, double-winning campaign under manager Iain Darbyshire, were invited to the Malaysian High Commission in Belgravia, London, on Wednesday to meet club owner Vincent Tan.

Tan, who was in the English capital in co-ordination with the Malaysian delegates who jetted in for King Charles III's coronation last weekend, invited the squad and was present at the meeting. While he later treated the squad to dinner at the plush Novikov restaurant in Mayfair.

Darbyshire's side were crowned back-to-back FAW Women's Cup winners with a 4-0 victory against Briton Ferry Llansawel last month following their undefeated league season in which they won the Adran Premier in emphatic fashion.

Tan is set to hold talks with the men's team manager, Sabri Lamouchi, over his future in the coming days.

Pompey boss on Gavin Whyte

A decision on whether or not to sign free agent Gavin Whyte should be "straightforward", Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has said.

The Northern Ireland winger announced his departure from Cardiff on Instagram this week and has been linked with both Pompey and his old club Oxford United.

Mousinho played with Whyte at Oxford and, as such, knows him just about as well as any manager out there.

Speaking about the potential signing, Mousinho said: "I know him and I’ve played with him for a couple of seasons. I knew him when he first came over as a young lad from Northern Ireland and then he came back on loan last season.

"I do know him really well, so maybe it’s more of a straightforward one. With the other players there’s a lot more work which goes into them. That’s not to say there’s not a lot of work going into Gav, but it’s quite an easy one in terms of saying 'I don’t think it’s an option, or it is an option'.

"When I have played with players that recently it means I know everything about his character, it’s maybe more straightforward to see if it’s of interest or not."

Robbo: I loved my first season

Callum Robinson has issued a message to Cardiff City fans following the conclusion of the campaign.

Robinson looked like he would spearhead Cardiff's Championship survival at one point, with a healthy return of seven goals and six assists in his 23 games for the Bluebirds.

But his injury in the dying minutes against Reading proved costly. Indeed, it ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign. The biggest shame is that he only got to play alongside Sory Kaba four times, a potent-looking strikeforce on the face of it.

Next season, though, Cardiff will hope he can stay fit and really make a prolonged impact for the course of the campaign.

Writing on Instagram, he said: "Despite the injury, loved my first season representing @cardiffcityfc and buzzing the boys pulled through in the end.

"Thank you for all your support throughout."

Antwi in leg brace

Cardiff City academy midfielder Cameron Antwi has ended the season in the worst way possible, with a bad injury to his leg.

The former Blackpool man had been one of the standouts for Darren Purse's under-21s side this season and endeared himself to a number of supporters throughout the campaign with his dynamism, eye for goal and industry.

But he picked up an injury at the end of the season and shared the result on social media. Antwi posted a photograph of himself in the gym, with a leg brace on and with crutches on the floor beside him.

"Timing was horrific," he wrote on Instagram. "I'll be back tho [sic]."

Cardiff City midfielder Cameron Antwi (Instagram/Cameron Antwi)

Meanwhile, fellow youngster Joel Bagan has posted a photo of a new tattoo he has had. The poignant design is of a young Joel looking into an eye with a football pitch, presumably representing his dream as a young kid of playing professionally.

Cardiff have handed him that opportunity, of course, and he has now made 41 appearances and scored three goals for the Bluebirds. The 21-year-old has also represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level.

Sabri Lamouchi has spoken about Bagan and has deemed it necessary to suggest to the board that he is offered a new contract, however we are yet to hear either way on that front.

Whether Bagan's journey continues with Cardiff remains to be seen at this stage.

READ NEXT

Cardiff City news as player confirms departure with Oxford United and Portsmouth circling

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Cardiff City fan view: The big question over Lamouchi amid bewildering selections and refusal to pick young guns

Sabri Lamouchi issues powerful and poignant message to Cardiff City fans as he vows 'we will come back stronger than ever'

'I will always be a Bluebird in my heart' — Sory Kaba's emotional farewell message to Cardiff City fans after saving their season

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