Cardiff City in pole position for Man City summer transfer - Brian Barry-Murphy links could seal deal | OneFootball

Cardiff City are keen to utilise Brian Barry-Murphy's Man City connections and beat Brighton and Brentford to a goalkeeping starlet.

Cardiff City look increasingly likely to return to the Championship at the first time of asking, with Brian Barry-Murphy overseeing a goalkeeper overhaul in the process.

Nathan Trott - on loan from FC Copenhagen in Denmark - has been the club's undisputed first-choice in-between the sticks for the Bluebirds, and is currently deputised by Matthew Turner and also January arrival Harry Tyrer from Everton.

However, January saw numerous changes in that department. After a loan with Sheffield Wednesday, Ethan Horvath departed the club permanently by returning to MLS with New York Red Bulls.

Jak Alnwick left for Huddersfield Town, with Trott making the starting role his own. The former West Ham United stopper has conceded just 27 times this season, and is tied with Stevenage's Filip Marschall, Exeter City's Joe Whitworth and Luton Town's Josh Keeley on 11 clean sheets.

Cardiff have the option to make the move permanent this summer, but there may be another option out there for Barry-Murphy to take a chance on for the 2026-27 season.

Cardiff City eye Man City goalkeeper Oliver Whatmuff

Alan Nixon is reporting that Manchester City are keen to allow their highly-rated teenage goalkeeper Oliver Whatmuff to leave on loan this summer, with Cardiff the favourites to land him already.

The Premier League giants want to put an end to interest from their top flight rivals by playing Whatmuff in the second tier, with the goalkeeper currently enjoying a season at the very top of the National League with Rochdale.

Cardiff are described as "red hot favourites" to land him if they win promotion. It is a deal described as one which would suit all parties, with Barry-Murphy's three-year stint as under-21's head coach at Man City a factor in that.

In July 2021, Barry-Murphy was announced as the manager of the Manchester City Elite Development Squad (EDS), not long after he left his job as Rochdale manager. Exactly three years later, he left the club after having a highly successful three-year spell in charge of City's EDS and Academy.

He knows all about Whatmuff, having named him in a Premier League 2 squad against Wolves in February 2024, and Man City are keen to keep their goalkeeping starlet on "a quick upward path". It's also reported by Nixon that Brighton and Brentford are keen on his services on a permanent basis.

Man City would sell "at the right - and very big - price". But going to Cardiff on loan works as it keeps Whatmuff's valuation high if he proves himself at Championship level in 2026/27, too.

Nathan Trott would feel hard done by if Cardiff City replace him

Given how well Trott has performed, it would be somewhat of a surprise if he wasn't a part of the core of the side in the Championship. In many ways, he has earnt a stab at playing at a higher level.

Trott has been one of the most consistent and reliable performers for much of the campaign, with only six League One goalkeepers performing better for 'goals prevented' — per FotMob.

Whitworth and Marschall lead the way in that regard, but Trott is only just behind the likes of Brad Collins, Sam Walker, Alex Bass, and Liam Roberts. The 27-year-old appears to be one of the players who they could take up to a higher level.

Barry-Murphy won't want to rip the team up and start again, especially with a young spine of superb Cardiff talents to build on via the likes of Rubin Colwill and Yousef Salech.

But he may see something special in Whatmuff, and if the teenager is allowed to depart on loan in the summer again and City think he's ready for League One or the Championship, then it may be a more cost-effective option to take than signing Trott permanently.