Vincent Tan set to take big Aaron Ramsey action at Cardiff City after Nathan Jones blow | OneFootball

Cardiff City midfielder Aaron Ramsey has now emerged as the favourite to take over the Welsh side after they missed out on Nathan Jones

Aaron Ramsey has now emerged as the front-runner to succeed Omer Riza as Cardiff City manager on a permanent basis in the latest twist to the saga.

According to an update from talkSPORT on Friday morning, the veteran midfielder, who is out of contract at the end of this month, is set to be kept on in a coaching capacity as he edges closer to being appointed by owner Vincent Tan ahead of the 2025/26 League One campaign.

Ramsey's future has been the subject of strong discourse in recent weeks, as the two-year deal he penned to seal an emotional homecoming to the Welsh capital from Ligue 1 side OGC Nice in the summer of 2023 is approaching its conclusion.

The 34-year-old has been hampered by injuries on the pitch, registering just 21 Championship appearances across the last two seasons.

But, as Ramsey nears the end of his playing career, his future in the dugout has been a big talking point. Indeed, the ex-Arsenal midfield star led the Bluebirds on a three-match caretaker basis at the end of last term following Riza's sacking, although he simply had too little time to keep City in the Championship as they suffered relegation to English football's third-tier.

Now, however, it appears as though Ramsey could be set to return to the Cardiff dugout.

Big Cardiff City, Aaron Ramsey managerial update emerges

As per talkSPORT's live football news blog [10:53AM], Ramsey has now emerged as the front-runner to become Tan's next managerial hire at the Cardiff City Stadium.

It's said that Cardiff are set to keep Ramsey on in a coaching capacity ahead of the expiration of his playing contract, with the midfielder having been among a clutch of names linked with the vacancy in recent times, alongside the likes of Brian Barry-Murphy, Des Buckingham, Ian Evatt and, most notably, Nathan Jones.

The Charlton Athletic boss, known to be a boyhood Cardiff supporter, had been a top target for the Bluebirds, though they ultimately fell short in a protracted pursuit as Jones put pen to paper on a fresh five-year contract in South London.

Cardiff have been forced to consider other options and Ramsey, it would appear, represents the most outstanding one as far as the club's key decision-makers are concerned.

Aaron Ramsey's future is still uncertain as Vincent Tan prepares Cardiff City action

Although it would seem likely that Ramsey will now become Cardiff's next boss - and the club's eighth permanent managerial appointment since the start of 2021, for that matter - there are still elements of his future which remain unclear at this moment in time.

Ramsey has made little secret of his desire to continue playing in some capacity as he bids to sign off his career at next year's FIFA 2026 World Cup with the Welsh national side, whom he currently captains under Craig Bellamy.

He did, however, rule out the idea of potentially taking up a player-manager role, stating that "it's one or the other" after the concept had been mooted by supporters.

That was more than a month ago, mind you, and it's plausible that Ramsey has had a change of heart by now.

More remaining questions will likely be answered imminently as Cardiff finally close in on getting a manager in place to oversee this summer's rebuild and a hopeful promotion push back towards the Championship next season, and what a story it would make for those of a Bluebirds persuasion if Ramsey does exactly that.