Today’s Cardiff City news as duo expected to depart and Wembley-bound star reveals ‘tough’ exit

Duo expected to leave

Romaine Sawyers and Sheyi Ojo are expected to be among those released when the club announces its retained list.

Cardiff, and other clubs, have to submit their retained lists to the EFL by midday tomorrow but don’t necessarily have to publish them until a few weeks’ time.

Presumably, though, the club will want to wait until the manager’s situation is resolved before publishing the retained list. However, it’s understood Sawyers and Ojo are to end their stays in the Welsh capital this summer.

Sawyers has been spoken of highly by those at the club and his influence has been particularly felt by the young players bursting into the first-team fold. Ojo has had a tough final season out on loan with relegation-scrapping KV Kortrijk in Belgium.

Rohan Luthra signed a two-year contract extension in June 2022, however he has managed just one first-team appearance for the club since then, coming off the bench at Preston North End. The loan ruling pertaining to Cardiff coming under the Welsh FA umbrella also scuppered him from finding clubs during last season, with a number of non-league sides interested in his services.

The club value Luthra and see him as a goalkeeper with potential, but there is also a realisation that the 22-year-old has to get out and play games regularly now.

Elsewhere, Kieron Evans’ future doesn’t appear to be fully resolved. The former Wales youth international had an excellent second half of the season at Gateshead, scoring in the penalty shootout at Wembley to win the FA Trophy. Conversations are still to take place over the winger’s next steps.

All will become much clearer when Erol Bulut’s situation is resolved. As things stand, an offer has been made to Bulut but not yet accepted. However, it’s understood further dialogue has taken place this week, which some insiders hope is a positive sign and could signal that details are being ironed out. As others have put it, if there was no hope at all, his exit would likely have been announced by now.

Still, though, we wait for the next steps and confirmation, one way or another, in order to kickstart the summer and next season’s plans in earnest.

Wembley-bound Harris: It was tough to leave Cardiff

Mark Harris has admitted it was a “tough decision” to leave Cardiff as he gears up for a trip to Wembley alongside three other ex-Bluebirds at Oxford United.

The Wales international has scored 19 goals for the U’s this season and is hoping there is more to come when he faces Bolton Wanderers at Wembley in the League One play-off final.

Oxford have Harris, Josh Murphy, Ciaron Brown and Joe Bennett in their ranks and are hoping those old Bluebirds can get Oxford into Cardiff’s division next season.

“There’s four of us. so hopefully we can get the job done and get us back up into the Championship this weekend,” said Harris. “It’s a big thing for these guys to get back to the level they used to be at.

“I’ve said many times it was a tough decision to leave Cardiff. I’d been there since I was five and I loved my time there. But it came to the point where I had to decide what was best for me, and at the time I thought that was Oxford.

“I’ve been playing lots of football, and hopefully I can help Oxford get up into the Championship and get back to the level I was at. Scoring my 20th goal of the season at Wembley… you couldn’t get much better than that.”

Oxford take on Bolton at 4.15pm tomorrow.

Ex-defenders in limbo

Former left-sided Cardiff defenders Jonathan Panzo and Greg Cunningham are now in limbo.

Sport Witness report that Panzo, who had an underwhelming loan at the start of last season before he was sent out to Standard Liege, has been sent back to Nottingham Forest, with the Belgian club opting not to take up an option on buying him.

Panzo is expected to leave the City Ground permanently this summer in search of new club.

Meanwhile, Preston North End have announced that Cunningham will depart the club after making 184 appearances over two separate spells with the Deepdale club.

The 33-year-old recently spoke candidly about his time with the Bluebirds in a Preston podcast, branding his stint with Cardiff the “worst time of my career

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