Cardiff City must eye Crystal Palace transfer and make Swansea City jealous | OneFootball

Cardiff City should look to sign Crystal Palace winger Jesurun Rak-Sakyi this window ahead of Swansea City

Cardiff City are back in the Championship after earning automatic promotion from League One at the first time of asking, and Brian Barry-Murphy will be keen to stamp his authority on the second tier with a strong transfer window this summer.

Cardiff's promotion back to the Championship never truly seemed in doubt, with head coach Barry-Murphy guiding the Bluebirds out of the third tier after just one season.

Having only previously managed Rochdale and Manchester City's Elite Development Squad, as well as spending time at Leicester City as a coach under Ruud van Nistelrooy, Barry-Murphy took the role in the Welsh capital upon their relegation from the Championship, and has done a superb job.

Finishing 2nd, behind only Lincoln City, who achieved over a century of points, Cardiff will be looking to continue this strong momentum under the Irish boss into the summer window and then the new season.

Barry-Murphy will be well aware of the areas that need strengthening this summer, with reinforcements in the final third likely to be a priority, as Cardiff should look to swoop in under Swansea City's noses to agree a transfer their rivals have been linked with for a while.

Cardiff City should look to sign Jesurun Rak-Sakyi from Crystal Palace this summer amid consistent Swansea City interest

Despite having the best attack in League One last season statistically, hitting 90 goals across the league campaign, Barry-Murphy will likely be looking to add some more quality and depth to Cardiff's attacking options this summer.

Though the top scorers in the division, only Yousef Salech and Omari Kellyman hit double digits for goals, whilst only Ollie Tanner hit double digits for assists, with goals coming from all areas of the pitch for the Bluebirds.

Whilst Kellyman returns to Chelsea following the end of his loan spell, the likes of Salech, Tanner, Ruben Colwill, Joel Colwill, Callum Robinson, Cian Ashford, Isaak Davies, and Chris Willock remain in the ranks, though whether any are capable of playing a starring role in the second tier next season remains to be seen.

Barry-Murphy must find the balance by being ruthless in his squad building in the Welsh capital, but ensuring he doesn't damage his side's morale with any incomings.

Off the right flank, Tanner has proved to be an excellent creative outlet, though Cardiff should look to add a goalscoring threat from that flank this summer with the addition of Crystal Palace's Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

Rak-Sakyi, 23, spent the first half of the season on loan in Turkey with Rizespor, scoring four and assisting one in 11 league games before spending the second half of the campaign on loan in the Championship with Stoke City, scoring twice in 15 league games, having been linked with a move to bitter rivals Swansea previously.

When asked about potentially signing the Ghanaian, Swansea head coach Vitor Matos said: "He's someone that had the impact last season with Sheffield United, with Charlton before as well, so of course he's someone really interesting.

"Rak-Sakyi has a lot of things we like, that's good, but of course it's a rumour at the moment so it's nothing that I can confirm."

With the Potters, Rak-Sakyi often flattered to deceive, with his only goals for the club coming against relegated Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday in home victories.

However, having previously shown his talent on loan with Sheffield United during the 2024/25 season, scoring seven and assisting twice in 35 league games, there is clearly a player there with exceptional talent that has yet to be truly unlocked.

His contract in South London expires in the summer of 2027, and with just 12 months remaining on his current terms, Palace may be looking to cash in whilst they can over the coming months.

With Oliver Glasner departing and a replacement yet to be confirmed, Cardiff may have to wait and see what the new person coming to Selhurst Park thinks of Rak-Sakyi before a deal can be put in place.

Offering a significantly better goal threat than Tanner, still only 23 with ample time to improve, and having been previously linked with your biggest rivals, Rak-Sakyi ticks all the boxes for Cardiff, as the capital club should look to get this one over the line ahead of the Swans.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi would be an excellent option for Brian Barry-Murphy at Cardiff City

With Cardiff almost certainly looking to strengthen their promotion-winning side this summer, Barry-Murphy will be keen to take advantage of the Bluebirds' strong momentum in the window.

Whether someone like Rak-Sakyi would be willing to join Cardiff, permanently or on loan, remains to be seen, but with the Ghanaian's future up in the air, there is no reason as to why the Welsh outfit couldn't try their luck.

Rak-Sakyi would add a different dimension to Cardiff's attack, and the fact that he has previously been prominently linked with their bitter rivals would make a move all the more sweet.