Cardiff City 'delaying the inevitable' with Dylan Lawlor amid West Ham interest | OneFootball

FLW's Cardiff City fan pundit shares their thoughts regarding Dylan Lawlor remaining at the club despite West Ham United's interest

The 2026 summer transfer window is over, and as for Cardiff City, the Bluebirds squad remains largely the same as the one that earned promotion back to the second tier, as Brian Barry-Murphy will likely be pleased by the makeup of his side.

Cardiff have drawn all three of their opening Championship games following their promotion from League One last year, as Irish head coach Barry-Murphy looks to stabilise the club back in the second tier.

It's not exactly been a summer of high turnover in the Welsh capital, with four additions through the doors, only two of those being new, as Callum Scanlon and Nathan Trott return to the club, whilst Jack Moylan and Krystian Bielik have also arrived.

The Bluebirds have managed to avoid the departure of any of their key stars, which would have been of the utmost importance to Barry-Murphy, although at one stage the future of one of those appeared to be uncertain.

West Ham United were interested in Cardiff City's Dylan Lawlor this summer

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Dylan Lawlor enjoyed a breakthrough year with Cardiff last season, playing 32 League One games for his boyhood club, scoring twice and assisting twice, with one of those efforts coming from an incredible solo goal against Doncaster Rovers.

The 20-year-old has already earned six caps for the Welsh national team, and whilst he has missed the opening few games due to injury, when fit, he will almost certainly be one of the first names on the team sheet in South Wales.

The centre-back reportedly attracted interest from West Ham United earlier on in the window, as the Hammers looked to rebuild their squad for a title push following their relegation to the Championship.

Interest in the Welshman was reported, but Lawlor has remained in Cardiff, though whether his long-term future remains there is up for debate.

Football League World's Cardiff City fan pundit believes that Dylan Lawlor staying at the club is 'a delay of the inevitable'

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Football League World's Cardiff fan pundit, Matt Hall, has shared their thoughts on Lawlor staying at the club beyond the summer despite West Ham's rumoured interest, and whether they can see him still making a big-money move this time next year.

Matt said: "In regard to Dylan Lawlor staying, I think it's obviously a good thing, but it does feel like a delay of the inevitable. I think when you look at the Dylan Lawlor sale potentially, you were looking at it and going, well, if we really are to have ambitions of doing things this season, then you've got to keep him. But unfortunately, from my perspective, the lack of activity in the window has sort of put a cap on how far we can go this season.

"So, you know Dylan Lawlor staying is fantastic, but unless potentially things change in January, I struggle to see us mounting a very serious charge towards the top half or the play-offs, and I think, realistically, when you're looking at keeping Dylan Lawlor, the sort of money that you would probably be rejecting to do so, you would only do that if the ambitions on the pitch are to get that sort of level on the pitch this season.

"Now, obviously, I'm not writing it off; we could absolutely mount a charge towards the top half because Brian Barry-Murphy is just that good a manager, and our first XI is probably good enough for that when Dylan Lawlor comes back. Obviously, the squad behind it is very weak. So it does feel a little bit like delaying the inevitable.

"He will probably go elsewhere next year. I think you kind of have to do that because he does have to go elsewhere because of his contract situation; he'd be down to his final 12 months next summer. So obviously he is so, so good of a talent that you cannot let him leave on a free.

"The hope is that between now and January we can maybe chime down to another year extension to safeguard the club, maybe come to a gentleman's agreement that the club will allow him a move.

"I think it does mean that he will probably go next season. As long as his value maintains, I don't think it's a problem keeping him. I can't pretend that it is a problem that we've kept him, because I think every fan would have rather seen him stay."

Brian Barry-Murphy will have a big decision to make regarding Dylan Lawlor's Cardiff City future sooner rather than later

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Lawlor's current contract with Cardiff isn't due to expire until the summer of 2028, putting the club in a relatively comfortable position when it comes to his immediate future.

However, should he not sign a new deal within the next 12 months or so, then a sale next summer seems inevitable, as the Bluebirds will not want to risk losing the defender for nothing in 2028.

Barry-Murphy will no doubt be keen to keep him around, and a fresh contract may be put on the table in front of him before too long, though whether he will put pen to paper remains to be seen, as Lawlor could be sold as soon as next summer.