Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Friday, April 1.
Goalkeeper link
St Mirren goalkeeper Jak Alnwick is reportedly closing in on agreeing a move to Cardiff City this summer.
Offers have been tabled from Scottish clubs Aberdeen and Hibs in recent months, however the Scottish Sun claim the former England youth goalkeeper is set to reject them for a move to the Welsh capital.
READ MORE : The 'stick' Cody Drameh received for Cardiff move as summer transfer talk looms
The 28-year-old began his career at Newcastle United before turning out for Port Vale and Rangers ahead of landing at St Mirren in 2020. The 'keeper's deal runs out at the end of the campaign, so Cardiff could snap him up on a free transfer.
The Bluebirds' first-choice stopper, Alex Smithies, sees his contract run out in the summer. He is understood to be one of the club's higher earners and it appears unlikely Cardiff will be able to strike a deal. You can read more about the current contract situation here.
Should he arrive, Alnwick is expected to battle Dillon Phillips for the No.1 shirt at Cardiff next term.
Backroom staff sign
Cardiff City's assistant coaches Mark Hudson and Tom Ramasut have committed their futures to the club for another year, it has been confirmed.
Morison put pen to paper on a new contract last month, which will see him stay at the club until the end of the 2022/23 season. However, talks were still ongoing regarding the extension of Hudson and Ramsut's contracts. While Morison insists it was never really a concern, he says it is always positive in terms of forward planning to get everyone tied down.
"There was never any issue with it. It just wasn't brought up when I signed. When I signed no one asked the question," Morison said.
"People have different things going on in their personal lives which means things take longer for some people than it does for others. It was always going to happen, it just took a couple of weeks longer. Obviously the starting point was that I needed to get done, because whoever needed to replace me might not have wanted them. But it’s nice to have that continuity and clarity within the staff so we can all plan together as a group.
"There is more than just us three. There are a hell of a lot of people here who play their part. Jack [Radusin] and Josh [Morris] doing the analysis. Dibbs [goalkeeping coach Andy Dibble], Mike [Beere, senior strength and conditioning coach], who has stepped up to Carl’s [Serrant, now at Newport County] role. There's loads.
"I'm just the face. I have to sit here and talk to you guys and stand on the touchline and take the pelters and celebrations! But Huds and Rammers and their planning of the sessions and the individual bits everyone does, it's a real team effort."
Martin: Cardiff have made brilliant signings
Swansea City boss Russell Martin has heaped praise on Morison's work in the January transfer window, saying Cardiff have made some "brilliant signings".
The influx of five new loans has really rejuvenated the Bluebirds' fortunes over the last few months, with Martin stating that Morison has made them "find a way to win games" since he took charge.
"They made some brilliant signings in January," Martin said. "They’ve added athleticism and players who have really helped them. There’s a little bit of a myth about their form and our form. Over 10 games they have one more point than us. There’s very little between the two teams in the last 10 games, nothing in the last six games.
"They’ve improved in terms of players, and under Steve he’s found a way to get them to pull in one direction. They find a way to win games and get results. It’s very different to ours, but it works. So it’ll be a tough game for us and a totally different one to what we faced at home."
Cardiff fans were unhappy last time the two teams met, when Martin did the "swim away" celebration following the Swans' win back in October. The manager now concedes he maybe didn't understand the consequences of his actions.
"I don’t think I appreciated the backlash," he added. "Maybe everyone got carried away with the emotion of it. It was a brilliant afternoon in terms of the performance and atmosphere. Our away fans, the atmosphere they’ll create will be different. We’ll see how the game goes. I think it’ll be very different this time."
Cardiff director steps down
Jalil Rasheed, a non-executive director on Cardiff City's board, has stepped down from his role as he leaves Vincent Tan's Berjaya Corp. He had been appointed in July to direct club strategy, player acquisition and financial planning, having taken over from Tan's son Robin.
But he has left Tan's company and all of his posts within it, including the one he held at Cardiff.
"Today’s my last day at Berjaya Corp. and also last day as Board member of all companies I’m on, including the football clubs," he wrote on Thursday afternoon. "Thank you everybody. Biggest privilege in life for me to be involved in businesses I have enjoyed like retail, food, cars & football.
"I lived a kid’s dream of being involved in car & football business. Boy do I have stories! I have bit of regret for not being able to travel to meet HR Owen, Cardiff & KV Kortrijk. The travel restrictions did not help. But I still will travel personally soon to visit soon."
