Cardiff City

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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

Want more EFL transfer gossip? Read more of Friday's headlines here.

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Former Cardiff City and BBC Radio Wales commentator and journalist Richard 'Shep' Shepherd has died at the age of 81.

Shepherd started covering the Bluebirds during the early 1970s during his time as a journalist with the BBC.

He became editor of Cardiff's official matchday programme in 1985 and worked for the club for more than three decades as a club historian and a matchday commentator.

A Cardiff statement read: "We offer our sincerest condolences to Richard's widow, Brenda, his family and his many friends and colleagues in Welsh sport and further afield.

"With fond memories. Rest easy, Shep."

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Cardiff City will kick off the 2026-27 season with a home tie against League Two Swindon Town in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

The match will be a repeat of last year's first-round meeting of the clubs in the same competition, which Cardiff won 2-1 thanks to goals from Cian Ashford and Rubin Colwill.

The Carabao Cup first round is being played on the weekend of 7-9 August.

The Championship season begins the following weekend, with Cardiff welcoming Wrexham to south Wales in their opening league game of the campaign on Monday, 17 August.

Swindon, managed by Ian Holloway, finished ninth in the fourth tier last season.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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Cardiff City's home fixture against Wrexham is one of the most eye-catching fixtures on the opening weekend of the new Championship season.

The live TV cameras will roll at Cardiff City Stadium as Brian Barry-Murphy's team mark their return to the second tier with what is a relatively rare encounter with Wrexham.

The first of six derbies for Cardiff in 2026-27 – alongside the Wrexham return fixture next March, plus two meetings apiece with Swansea City and Bristol City – will see the Bluebirds begin the season on their own patch for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Cardiff's hope will be that they can continue a strong home record against Wrexham.

The two Welsh clubs did not meet in the league until 1975, when Cardiff won a Third Division game 3-0 at Ninian Park.

That was the first of nine Cardiff victories in 15 home league matches against Wrexham.

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The 17 August fixture will be the first in the league between the two clubs since Cardiff won a third-tier encounter 3-2 in March 2002, with Scott Young, Peter Thorne (pictured above) and Danny Gabbidon on target for Lennie Lawrence's side.

Cardiff have lost only two home league games against Wrexham, in 1992 and 1982, while they have been beaten on the opening day of the season just once in the previous five campaigns.

The 2025-26 campaign began with a 2-1 home triumph against Peterborough United which set the tone for a season that ended with promotion.

Another opening victory this time around would be an impressive way to start as Barry-Murphy looks to re-establish Cardiff in the second tier.

Brian Barry-Murphy has just celebrated one year in charge of Cardiff City (16 June), little more than a month after guiding the Bluebirds back into the Championship.

BBC Sport Wales asked Cardiff fans to give us their verdict on Barry-Murphy's first 12 months at Cardiff City Stadium, and their predictions for the 2026-27 campaign.

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Former Cardiff City boss Sabri Lamouchi has been sacked as Tunisia head coach following their 5-1 defeat by Sweden in their opening World Cup fixture.

Reports after that loss suggested Lamouchi had been immediately sacked but sources told BBC Sport that the 54-year-old took training on Monday.

However, the Tunisian Football Association has now confirmed that the Frenchman's contract has been terminated by "mutual agreement".

Lamouchi's departure means he is the first manager in World Cup history to be sacked after just one game.

The 54-year-old Frenchman was in charge at Cardiff for four months, signing a short-term contract in January 2023.

He oversaw six wins in 18 games to keep the Bluebirds in the Championship, but despite saying he was open to extending his stay in south Wales, in May 2023 owner Vincent Tan decided not to offer Lamouchi a new contract.

The former Nottingham Forest boss then managed two clubs in Saudi Arabia before being appointed Tunisia coach in January 2026.

He won just one of his five games with the North African country - a 1-0 victory over Haiti in his first game in charge.

In their two warm-up games for the World Cup earlier this month, they lost 1-0 to Austria before suffering a 5-0 thrashing by Belgium.

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Brian Barry-Murphy celebrates one year in charge of Cardiff City today (16 June), little more than a month after guiding the Bluebirds back into the Championship.

The Irishman signed a three-year contract with the club last summer and led Cardiff to automatic promotion from League One in his debut campaign in the Welsh capital.

Cardiff were victorious in 27 of their 46 league games last season at a win rate of 58.7%.

Their 91 points came at an impressive rate of 1.98 points per game.

They also bagged a league-high of 90 goals in the third tier last season at a rate of 1.96 goals per game.

In addition to their stunning exploits in the league, Cardiff enjoyed a memorable run to the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

The Bluebirds beat Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town on their own patch before securing successive away triumphs over Burnley and Wrexham.

The run was ultimately ended by Premier League Chelsea who beat the Bluebirds 3-1 in the Welsh capital in December.

But with all cup competitions included, Barry-Murphy has a win rate of 58.9% from his 56 competitive matches as head coach so far.

The 47-year-old was twice named EFL League One Manager of the Month in his debut campaign in south Wales.

And having led the club back into the second tier at the first attempt, Barry-Murphy is now seeking to continue his remarkable record at Cardiff so far in 2026-27.