Cardiff City must beat Wrexham to Crystal Palace transfer after big Chelsea blow | OneFootball

Cardiff City should line up a move to beat Wrexham and Burnley to Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi after failing to return Omari Kellyman

Cardiff City will be bidding to accelerate transfer activity in the closing stages of what has represented a rather quiet window this summer in the Welsh capital, with Brian Barry-Murphy's side remaining in need of numerous additions across the pitch after achieving promotion out of League One at the first attempt.

The Bluebirds have added just one new face to the squad in the form of impressive Republic of Ireland international Jack Moylan from Lincoln City, with Nathan Trott and Calum Scanlon both returning following loan spells in the 2025/26 campaign.

There was, of course, another temporary deal from Cardiff's promotion-winning campaign that supporters were desperate to see repeated in order to boost the side ahead of returning to the Championship, and while a blow has since been dealt on that particular front, Barry-Murphy could just find a potential alternative by beating Wrexham to an agreement with Crystal Palace.

Cardiff City must replace Omari Kellyman after big Chelsea transfer blow

Cardiff had spent much of the summer pursuing a return for Omari Kellyman after the talented playmaker played an inspirational role in their automatic promotion out of the third-tier by scoring 11 league goals, growing in influence as the season toiled on and stepping up in the absence of star striker Yousef Salech in an unorthodox false-nine role.

There were high hopes when Barry-Murphy utilised his relationship with then-Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca to land the 20-year-old a year on from his £19 million exit out of Aston Villa, and expectations were duly met in what proved a thoroughly successful deal for all parties.

Kellyman's positional flexibility to lead the line, operate in a most-favoured attacking midfield role or, more often than not, play from the right flank, gave numerous new strings to Cardiff's bow and the prominent part he played accelerated the youngster's development following an injury-plagued debut season at Chelsea, which preceded a breakthrough season in senior football.

The Bluebirds had battled with a number of clubs for Kellyman's signature but eventually believed they were in pole position to seal a reunion in the Championship, with the ex-Derby County and Aston Villa academy starlet having made clear his desire to move back to South Wales for the 2026/27 season.

However, Chelsea have since elected to sanction the permanent sale of Kellyman to sister club Strasbourg in yet another eye-catching move for the prodigious forward, and it's one which is set to involve serious sums of money once again while going against his own wishes and leaving Cardiff with an undoubted void to fill in what remains of this summer's window.

Though not confirmed, Kellyman is poised to be on his way across the English channel to France before long and Cardiff, with precious little time to spare at this late stage, must now take action.

Cardiff City can replace Omari Kellyman by beating Wrexham to Crystal Palace's Jesurun Rak-Sakyi

It would come as no surprise to see Cardiff explore continental markets after the astute signing of the aforementioned Salech from Swedish side Sirius and a well-documented pursuit of Jens Hjerto-Dahl earlier in the summer, and many supporters would be perfectly supportive of such an approach that can promise to yield strong upside at an often-discounted price as opposed to domestic markets under the noses of other divisional competitors.

However, the Bluebirds can also source a replacement closer to home in the form of Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who now faces an uncertain future at Crystal Palace following mixed loan spells in the Championship with Sheffield United and Stoke City.

Now aged 23, there is a school of thought that Rak-Sakyi is yet to truly realise his potential at Selhurst Park, having previously been widely-regarded among the Eagles' most promising young talents before departing South London for a succession of loans.

Indeed, the talented wide-man has played just 313 minutes of senior competitive football for Palace and the bulk of his experience has arrived elsewhere instead, with varied results.

Rak-Sakyi lit up League One with Charlton Athletic during the 2022/23 campaign by scoring 15 goals and providing a further nine assists, before finally transitioning to the Championship at Sheffield United in 2024.

The one-cap Ghaniain international's time in the Steel City proved less fruitful, although he still found the back of the net on seven occasions as Chris Wilder's side reached the play-off final against Sunderland.

Then, Rak-Sakyi would spend the first-half of last season on loan with Turkish outfit Rizespor after Palace failed to find an appropriate destination in the previous summer's window, and went on to score four times prior to heading back to second-tier level for an unremarkable stint at Stoke City.

The pacey wide-man's career has resembled something of a mixed bag to date, although it remains one perhaps just waiting to explode at a permanent home - which Cardiff can offer up before the window concludes.

It's no secret that the Bluebirds are searching for added impetus in the wide areas, where only Ollie Tanner and Chris Willock can be considered natural, out-and-out candidates after Cian Ashford's re-conversion to an advanced midfield role with seriously-exciting effect, and Rak-Sakyi would tick many boxes in the context of what's required in that area of the pitch for Barry-Murphy.

Quite arguably, the Palace attacker isn't as skilled in ball retention as the Irishman would like, although his ability to stretch defences and provide a potentially-devastating one-v-one outlet while also bringing a real goal threat to the table would give a new dimension within Cardiff's attack away from what Tanner and Willock already offer.

Capable of operating on either side, Rak-Sakyi thrived at Charlton when he was afforded the freedom to cut inside on his favoured left foot and he would improve the Bluebirds' ability to both open up opposition backlines - many of whom set up with a low defensive block against such a possession-oriented side - and finish off attacking moves.

Whether they could actually work a deal, of course, only remains to be seen owing to existing Championship interest in the winger's services, but it's a race that Cardiff could live to regret not enlisting themselves in.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi's Crystal Palace transfer situation as Wrexham and Burnley lurk

It's yet to be made clear if Rak-Sakyi has any sort of long-term future at Palace, although the realistic answer would appear to suggest otherwise following four loans away of varying success levels without ever making his mark for the Eagles at first-team level.

Rak-Sakyi is currently set to see his contract expire next summer and clubs are already monitoring his situation, with Football League World exclusively revealing interest from both Burnley and Wrexham earlier this week.

It would make real sense for Palace and Rak-Sakyi to finally part company, allowing the club to receive a fee for his signature and the winger to truly kick-start his career at a settled, permanent home.

Admittedly, Cardiff would represent a more attractive stylistic destination for Rak-Sakyi over Welsh rivals Wrexham due to a dominant front-footed attacking style of play and the inclusion of natural wingers under Barry-Murphy, with Phil Parkinson invariably deploying wing-backs.

Wrexham would have a better chance of making the deal happen from a financial perspective, mind you, and the same could apply for promotion hopefuls Burnley, even if they can already call upon mercurial forward Marcus Edwards in Rak-Sakyi's preferred right-sided role.

Either way, Rak-Sakyi would be a viable target for Cardiff and can bring both immediate and long-term upside with plenty of development ahead for a richly-talented, risk-taking wide-man who simply needs a new home and a run of games to show his worth - and the Bluebirds could get one over on Wrexham in the process after spoiling the Red Dragons' party with a last-grasp Rubin Colwill-inspired draw to kick-start the new season on Monday evening.