'That's the concern' - Cardiff City transfer risk involving Chelsea's Omari Kellyman made clear | OneFootball

The Bluebirds face competition to sign a familiar face.

Cardiff City did tremendously well to achieve an instant return to the Championship by blooding a young side in a competitive League One campaign.

The Bluebirds consistently put out a youthful starting XI, with their lowest average age of 22.5 against Peterborough United, the second-youngest team fielded in the division behind only Posh themselves.

Next season will be a different beast, though, with a stacked Championship brimming with quality, and Brian Barry-Murphy will need a blend of experience and youth.

Last summer, Cardiff utilised the loan market superbly, and they would surely love to bring back one of the players who starred in Wales while guiding them to promotion.

Cardiff City can re-sign Omari Kellyman from Chelsea

Omari Kellyman joined Cardiff on loan from Chelsea last summer and proved a massive hit as the club finished second in League One, earning automatic promotion to the Championship.

The Bluebirds' frightening attack set them apart from the division, with Kellyman contributing 11 of the club's 90 goals in the third tier from a range of positions.

The 20-year-old has returned to Chelsea but is unlikely to feature in their first team next term, with The Athletic reporting that Championship clubs and teams from across Europe have already expressed interest in his services.

When asked whether he thinks his club would struggle to complete a deal for the forward, FLW's Cardiff City pundit Matt Hall backed his club to bring him back to the Welsh capital.

"I think it's hard to ever predict what Chelsea, as a football club, will do," he told Football League World.

"I don't think that we would struggle on the players' side to convince Omari Kellyman himself to come back.

"When you're looking for a player to buy in, I've not seen a loanee buy in the way he has for a very, very long time and especially one of his age demographic as well.

"Sometimes you get loanees who are of an older age and have been a bit more of a journeyman, but for Kellyman to fall in love with us the way he had was very warming to see."

Why would Kellyman come to Cardiff over other sides?

Judging from the reports, it seems that Kellyman could have a wealth of options on the table this summer, but given that Cardiff are now a Championship side, they have a strong case to land him.

Of course, it will be down to his club, Chelsea, what they want to do with him, and they may have the final say over where he plays his football next season, but Matt is confident of his return.

"I think from Kellyman's side, himself and his preferences would lead us to be one of the favourites," he continued.

"It would be very dependent on Chelsea, but if they were to loan him to the Championship, I am strongly convinced that we would be the top priority to have him go to, personally.

Indeed, Matt believes it would be a win-win situation for the player and all clubs involved for him to return, and it would be hard to argue against his case.

"It's a similar environment, it's just at a higher level. It felt like a natural progression even when we signed him last summer; it felt a little bit like it was one of those loans that, if he kicked on to a certain level, we would be able to get on again in the Championship.

"The issue you've got with Kellyman is if Chelsea do decide and go, right, he's done English football, so to speak; we want to try him abroad to maybe send him to the Netherlands or send him to their sister club, Strasbourg - that's the concern.

"If he does that, if that's what their decision is, then it's out of our hands, but I'm still relatively confident that if we are keen to have him, that we will get him. I am confident that he will be wearing a Cardiff shirt in August."

They say that you should not fall in love with a loan player, but sometimes it is impossible not to, and that is certainly the case with Cardiff supporters and Kellyman.

While there is much for the player and his club to decide, he has formed a unique bond with Bluebirds fans and the fact that they are now a Championship club could give them the decisive edge.