Mehmet Dalman issues reassuring transfer update to Cardiff City supporters | OneFootball

Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman has broken his silence following relegation to League One, offering an encouraging transfer update

Under-fire Cardiff City chairman Mehmet Dalman has revealed a crucial update on what the summer transfer window could look like in the Welsh capital following the club's relegation to League One.

The Bluebirds finished the 2024/25 Championship campaign in dead-last, confirming their return to the third-tier of English football for the first time in more than 20 years.

It was a completely dismal season for now-managerless Cardiff, who went through three separate bosses in Erol Bulut, Omer Riza and, albeit on a caretaker basis for the final three affairs, even Aaron Ramsey - still under playing contract with the Bluebirds until next month - en-route to League One.

Supporters have been increasingly disgruntled in recent times, citing the perceived deficit in footballing nous, expertise and strategy at boardroom level as a fundamental reason behind the club's demise. Cardiff do not currently have a sporting director in situ, and a run-through of seven permanent managers in the last four years - coupled with three relegation battles in that time - serves as ample evidence of widely-held concerns among the fanbase.

On two separate occasions, Cardiff fans staged protests against the club's hierarchy - namely made up of controversial owner Vincent Tan alongside Dalman and chief executive Ken Choo - and the trio now face a significant task in winning back the trust and faith of the club's loyal supporters.

Given that Cardiff were estimated to have possessed the Championship's seventh-highest wage bill in 24/25 term despite finishing as the division's worst side, supporters are rightly fearful about the transition down to League One.

Relegation invariably causes a significant loss in revenue, and the corresponding need to trim down the squad and its wage bill, both of which are poised to be key priorities for the Bluebirds.

Mehmet Dalman's Cardiff City transfer update will be good news for supporters

Another critical issue raised by fans has been the notable lack of transparency and communication from the higher-ups. Tan, though, penned an open message to supporters in the wake of Cardiff's 0-0 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion - which confirmed relegation with one match to spare - and Dalman has now broken his silence, too.

Speaking on BBC Sport Wales' Feast of Football podcast, Dalman has revealed that the squad will be trimmed considerably.

This exercise, however, will not equate to asset-stripping in Dalman's view, with the chairman insisting Cardiff could instead sanction big sales owing to regular circumstances, not relegation to League One, and he has also said that he has held positive conversations with "core" members of the squad, many of whom are believed to be committed to sticking around and helping the Welsh club back to the Championship at the first attempt.

In regards to potentially having to sell players, Dalman said: "That’s not in our plans.

"We will sell players if somebody comes up with an attractive offer. We would consider it, but that's true of every season at any given time. That is nothing to do with our circumstances.

"We are very determined to keep the core of the team together, and the feedback we are getting from the core of the team is to stay together.

"I'm sure there'll be a few who will not fancy staying in League One. We will respect that, although we will expect them to respect their contracts as well."

Dalman's revelation could offer much-needed hope to supporters about the club's retention ability, with numerous exits feared. While Cardiff have a clutch of players who, by all accounts, need to be offloaded after failing to deliver in the most recent campaign, there are certain individuals backed to play leading roles in League One, should they remain, having impressed in spite of the club's relegation.

The most notable example is star striker Yousef Salech, who only joined Cardiff back in January from Swedish side Sirius in a deal reportedly worth up to £3.3 million but has already established himself as a firm fan favourite and a real star in the making by returning 8 goals from 20 Championship appearances, including a brace in the 4-2 final day defeat at Norwich City.

Supporters have also expressed a clear worry about losing Alex Robertson.

The gifted 21-year-old midfielder signed for Cardiff last summer from Manchester City and has largely impressed, even though performances did hit some turbulence after a strong first-half of the season, and he previously enjoyed an outstanding loan spell in the third-tier with Portsmouth.

Robertson, though, much like Salech, could now be set to stay exactly where he is.

There is always the possibility of Cardiff receiving offers simply too good to turn down - their bargaining hand is weakened by relegation, despite Dalman's admission - and it's not uncommon for players to push through moves either, but the club's intent to avoid significant sales and seemingly not having to resort to asset-stripping is a potentially-huge boost.

Mehmet Dalman offers update on Cardiff City contract situations

Many of the anticipated summer outgoings could be those out of contract next month, of which there are eight as things stand. Dimitros Goutas, Andy Rinomhota, Anwar El Ghazi, Joe Ralls, Yakou Meite, Jamilu Collins, Kieron Evans and Ramsey are all currently set to see their contracts expire soon, and the majority will likely depart.

One would expect those departures to be El Ghazi, Meite, Collins, Evans and likely Goutas, too, with Cardiff more keen on addressing the situations of Player's Player of the Year winner Rinomhota, club captain Ralls and, of course, Ramsey.

Cardiff are reportedly eager to tie Rinomhota down to a new deal, while it's said that there "seems to be an agreement" for Ralls to play a big role both on and off the pitch and Dalman is set to sit down with Ramsey to discuss his future in a potential playing-coaching capacity.

"We have 33 players on our books and that’s quite a lot. I think that needs to be cut back to more like 25 or 26," Dalman said of outgoings.

"Out of the eight who are out of contract, we would probably lose six, maybe five. There may be a couple that we still want to have conversations with. That will bring us to a sensible number. We probably need to add three or four players into the team."

He added of Ramsey: "Aaron is a wonderful chap. I got to know him quite well over the last couple of years and we will sit down with Aaron and have a chat.