Millwall and Cardiff City talks over player's future detailed after Alex Neil developments | OneFootball

The midfielder could be heading from one capital to another in the new year.

Ryan Wintle's Millwall future is up in the air as discussions continue between his parent club, Cardiff City, and his current club over a potential recall in the January window.

Wintle has been with the Bluebirds since the summer of 2021, when he arrived from Crewe Alexandra on a free transfer. He was a consistent member of the Cardiff starting XI for the first two seasons of his time with the club, but that began to slowly wind down last term.

The decision was made in the summer that he would be allowed to leave the Welsh capital, but only on loan. Millwall were the ones to land the midfielder's services, but his game time with the Lions hasn't been anything to shout about either, opening up the opportunity for Wintle to leave London and go back to Cardiff in the new year.

Ryan Wintle, Cardiff return opportunity opens up

Darren Witcoop has reported that the two clubs are in talks over a January recall for Wintle, who is said to be keen on going back to his parent club.

Millwall weren't the only club said to be interested in signing the 27-year-old in the summer. He was on Stoke City's radar as well, according to Witcoop.

Neil Harris was in charge of Millwall when Wintle signed, but now that he is gone and his successor, Alex Neil, is in place, the discussions have been slightly complicated, as per Witcoop, as Neil may see the midfielder as a useful member of his squad.

If Wintle does go back to Cardiff this January, it wouldn't seemingly be with the purpose of then heading somewhere else temporarily. City's boss Omer Riza worked with the player during his time as an assistant to Erol Bulut, who was sacked near the start of the campaign after the midfielder had joined the Lions.

A Ryan Wintle return could be an interesting prospect for Cardiff

It was made pretty clear in the summer that the 27-year-old wasn't part of Bulut's plans. Now, though, with a new person running the football team and a different style of plan, Wintle could be a helpful addition to the team.

His way of playing suits the way that Cardiff play now under Riza than it did under his former boss. Will Wintle come back and be the centrepiece of the side? Probably not. Cardiff do have a lot of talent in this area of the pitch anyway. But could he come back and be a useful asset? It's certainly a possibility.