I've seen what Cian Ashford can do - He could make Cardiff City millions | OneFootball

I've seen exactly what Cian Ashford can do and I believe the winger is poised to break out as a real star for Cardiff City - here is why...

Cardiff City are preparing for their first campaign in English football's third-tier in more than 20 years after suffering relegation from the Championship in a historically-dismal 2024/25 season.

The Bluebirds will need to dust themselves down rather quickly and get to work on implementing the requisite foundations to direct a promotion push at the very first attempt, a requirement which encompasses bolstering and fine-tuning the playing squad alongside making the correct calls in terms of the club's next managerial appointment alongside, as supporters have long called for, increased footballing nous and expertise at boardroom level to offer tangible strategic support to whoever comes in as manager.

But, despite the abject manner in which Cardiff dropped out of the Championship in bottom place, I do believe there is plenty of talent in this squad simply waiting to be unleashed by the right manager.

Cardiff, for all their shortcomings in recent years, have placed a much stronger emphasis on tapping into the talent pool on offer in the Welsh capital and beyond - the opening of a new, state-of-the-art academy training base in Llanrumney back in 2023 attests to exactly that, and there has been an influx of academy graduates in and around the first-team squad over the last few seasons, such as Isaak Davies, Rubin Colwill, Ronan Kpakio, Dylan Lawlor and Cian Ashford to name just a few.

Supporters, like myself, are excited about whom the next proverbial cabs off the ranks could be. More opportunities are sure to be afforded in what will be a lighter League One squad, that's for sure.

Ashford, however, has already shown us all exactly what he is capable of; his impact in the third-tier, then, could be exceptional, and I believe Cardiff could eventually profit in an extremely handsome way from the young winger.

I've seen Cian Ashford star for Cardiff City in the Championship - He could be excellent in League One

For more than three years before he finally made his Championship debut under Erol Bulut during a 1-0 win at Birmingham City in April 2024, I had been all-too-eager to see Ashford strutting his stuff at senior level.

Back in 2020, it emerged that Ashford, then a reported target of Leeds United, was both training and impressing in first-team training at the tender age of 16, so young that Cardiff had to request permission to take the Wales youth international out of school.

He finally received an opportunity at the end of the 2023/24 season, by which point Cardiff's fate in the comfortable confines of mid-table had long been sealed, and it was one Ashford seized with both hands.

He scored on his first-ever league start in the most dramatic fashion, netting a rip-roaring 95th-minute winner against eventual play-off winners Southampton infront of the Canton Stand, and also impressed in the final day defeat at Rotherham United, but that was about as good as it got.

I found myself scratching my head - and many fans were in a similar boat, of that there is little doubt - why Ashford was not utilised more during the first-half of the season just gone. Anwar El Ghazi and Chris Willock, two high-profile arrivals on free transfers, both failed to make an instant impact - or any sort of impact, as the duration of the season showed us all - yet Ashford was restricted to only 66 minutes of Championship football up until Cardiff's 3-2 Boxing Day loss against Oxford United, in which he appeared from the bench and found the back of the net just 13 minutes after being introduced.

Quite clearly, that displayed something to Omer Riza, who had replaced Bulut by this stage, and Ashford locked down a regular starting spot from there on in. His strike at the Kassam Stadium offered a much-needed springboard, as he set up goals in the next two matches against Watford and Coventry City before scoring in back-to-back fixtures with Sheffield United and Watford.

Ashford, it must be said, was unable to sustain such white-hot form, although such an expectation for a 20-year-old wide-man with limited experience in a struggling side would have dithered far beneath realism in any case.

He did not score again in the rest of the campaign, and posted just one more assist - though a crucial one of that by setting up Yousef Salech's late equaliser in the 1-1 draw at home to Severnside rivals Bristol City in February - yet his performances remained largely encouraging and suggestive as to the influence he could exert in League One next season.

The versatile forward is ambidextrous, which enables him to operate comfortably on either flank, while he can also play in attacking midfield, whereby his ball-carrying quality offers a huge aid to Cardiff in transition. I have long been critical of the lack of speed, directness and risk-taking verve among Cardiff's attackers; Ashford, however, is a rare exception to the rule and often got me out of my seat with the way in which he would play with the ball infront of him and look to take on opposing full-backs - quite often with success, too.

We all know about his ball-striking, of course. I would have expected that to have yielded perhaps a few more goals, but that can be attributed to the shortage of fluidity and creativity in Cardiff's attacking plays as much as anything else, and I have scarce doubt over what Ashford's output could look like next time out.

He's a clean striker with both feet, and can be particularly devastating when pressing opposition defenders high or running at them with the speed and dynamism he has in his locker.

A full campaign in League One, in which I really do hope Ashford retains his starting spot despite just how important it is for Cardiff to strengthen their wide options, could serve him extremely well. For me, the winger was one of very few bright sparks in what was a largely-miserable second-half of the season, and that should mean a full 46-game season in the league below could see him emerge as a real star.

His ceiling, though, is much higher than that when you assess the bigger picture.

Cardiff City could eventually make millions from Cian Ashford

Gaining even more senior experience and making a profound, consistent impact in League One is what we will all hope and expect from Ashford come August. Equally, mind you, I think most Cardiff fans are aware the long-term ambition is considerably greater.

We know that, should Ashford threaten to make inroads towards fulfilling his potential, it's likely he's not going to be a Cardiff player forever. He's still raw in many regards, but has a huge amount of time on his side to iron out the inconsistencies in his game and transform into a top, top player.

I am a huge fan of Ashford, and I fully expect that to happen in due course. When it does, Cardiff can quite possibly expect to be the recipients of a real windfall for his signature.

As an academy product, any potential sale would see Ashford declared as full profit. That always helps with balancing the books, of course.

Exactly what sort of fee Cardiff could anticipate remains to be seen and will simply be determined by how the next couple of seasons play out, you would imagine, though there is little denying that Ashford has bags of potential and sale value further down the line.

City will want to keep hold of him for as long as possible, and he will be envisaged as a core part of the club's long-term plans. But I do think, at some stage, Ashford is destined for bigger things, and it could all really start with a consistent and quality campaign in League One next season.