"Future captain" - Big claim made on "unbelievable" Cardiff City prospect amid Omer Riza revelation | OneFootball

FLW's Cardiff City fan pundit discussed the club's most promising prospects

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It has been a miserable few seasons for Cardiff City amid the Welsh club's third battle against relegation to League One inside just four years, but despite all the uncertainty both on and off-the-pitch, their burgeoning and progressive academy system has routinely offered ample consolation for supporters.

Neil Harris was perhaps the first Cardiff manager in many a year who sought to address the club's long-standing shortage of talent production, though more significant inroads have been made in recent times.

Notably, back in September 2023, Cardiff cut the ribbon on a brand-new, state-of-the-art academy training facility in Llanrumney, the defining hallmark of strategic efforts made to emphasise a wide catchment area and ensure a consistent flow of youngsters up through the ranks and into the first-team, with the intention of eventually collecting significant profits.

The Bluebirds have, of course, seen some of their finest talent cherry-picked from the Welsh capital. The likes of Lewys Benjamin, Charlie Crew, Timeo Whisker and Gabriele Biancheri have all been snapped up by Category One academies in Wolves, Leeds United, Manchester City and Manchester United, but supporters remain hopeful of the club's next crop.

Cian Ashford, Isaak Davies and the Colwill brothers - seasoned first-team star Rubin, and younger brother Joel - are all homegrown products of Cardiff's academy system.

They are expected to be joined by more in the side in the not-too-distant future, with the academy a sure-fire source of excitement for supporters for years to come.

Cardiff City's Dylan Lawlor tipped as future captain material amid Omer Riza admission

FLW asked our resident Cardiff fan pundit, Matt Hall, who he believes is his team's most exciting wonderkid at this moment in time.

Matt went with young central defender Dylan Lawlor, who has long earned rave reviews for his displays at age-group level and enjoyed a starring debut in Cardiff's 2-0 FA Cup fifth-round defeat away to Aston Villa in February.

The 19-year-old is yet to make his Championship debut but is poised to have a big future in South Wales, should he sign a new contract.

Lawlor, who has reportedly attracted interest from both Premier League and continental clubs, is out of contract at the end of the season. Although Cardiff have an extension option at their disposal, Bluebirds manager Omer Riza and the club are both eager to see the defender tied down for a longer period of time.

Matt has gone one step further and has tipped Lawlor as a potential future captain in the making, such is his talent, promise and maturity at a remarkably young age.

"There isn't anything I could not say about emerging talent, that seems to be the one thing I could be endlessly positive about," Matt told FLW.

"The two that stand out at the moment are Dylan Lawlor and Troy Perrett, both have been linked to Premier League clubs or clubs abroad.

"Lawlor made his debut against Villa, unbelievable on the ball, a lot of his line-breaking passes were brilliant but he's got the physicality that would mean he would not look out of place if he started Championship games, I would have absolutely no problem with that myself.

"He's definitely someone that we need to keep hold of and, if we can, future captain, you never know.

Exciting Cardiff City claims made on Troy Perrett, Tanatswa Nyakuhwa

Although Matt named Lawlor as Cardiff's biggest wonderkid, he is well aware of how many other promising talents are also making their way.

The aforementioned Perrett has been linked with a move to Villa and is held in an extremely strong regard at Cardiff, while big things are also expected from speedy winger Tanatswa Nyakuhwa.

"Troy Perrett hasn't made his debut yet, but he's someone who has always been fancied. I think he was in the under 18's at 15, he was on the bench against Sheffield United before Christmas, really well thought-of," Matt continued.

"I can't imagine a debut is that far away.

"Behind that, Tanatswa Nyakuhwa hasn't made a debut but he was on the bench against Villa, really talented forward. He was linked with Anderlecht in the January window, really top prospect.

"Had a bit of a hard start to the year because he was behind Michael Reindorf, who went on loan to Bristol Rovers, but he stands out.

"Those are the main ones, apart from the ones who are already in the team. We're already proud to say we've got players like Ashford, Isaak Davies, Rubin Colwill, Joel Colwill, Eli King, Joel Bagan, there's so much talent in the squad and it's just going to keep going.