What Vincent Tan is now doing as big Cardiff City, Rangers transfer twist emerges | OneFootball

The Bluebirds are in negotiations over midfielder Jens Hjertø-Dahl, who's been a key player in taking Tromsø to the top of the Norwegian league.

Cardiff City are locked in talks over a midfield star who's been a key part of his team's rise to the top of the Norwegian Eliteserien over the first half of their 2026 season.

With promotion back to the Championship from League One secured after just a season away, Cardiff City are rebuilding for their return. The Bluebirds ended the 2025-26 season as runners-up behind Lincoln City, and there's work to be done on strengthening their first-team squad ahead of the start of the new season.

Activity on the transfer front has so far been fairly quiet. Goalkeeper Nathan Trott has made his move to the club permanent following a year on loan from the Danish club FC Copenhagen, while defender Jesper Daland has returned to the club after a proposed move to the German club Fortuna Düsseldorf failed when the club, with whom he'd been on loan for the 2025-26 season, were relegated from the 2. Bundesliga on the final day of last season.

But the Bluebirds are stepping up their business in the transfer market, and are now reportedly locked in talks over a move for a 20-year-old midfielder who's impressed for Tromsø over the first half of the season in the Norwegian top division, the Eliteserien, although they're not alone in their interest in the player.

Cardiff City in talks with Norwegian midfielder Jens Hjertø-Dahl over potential move to the Championship

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Glen Williams, the Cardiff City correspondent for Wales Online, has reported to the social media platform X that Cardiff are in talks over the 20-year-old midfielder Jens Hjertø-Dahl, regarding a potential move to The Cardiff City Stadium this summer, with Vincent Tan now believed to be keeping a close eye on negotiations - which will be of particular interest to supporters.

Williams reports that Cardiff are "happy where they are in negotiations" over the player, who's been one of the star performers for a Tromsø team which has risen to the top of the Eliteserien. His accompanying report on Wales Online confirms that this would be a significant financial outlay for the Championship club, with any transfer fee likely to be in the region of £5.5 million to £8.5 million.

But Cardiff are not alone in their interest in the player. There had been considerable speculation in Scotland that the young player could be set for a move to Ibrox to join Rangers this summer, though Williams reports that Rangers' long-standing pursuit has cooled in recent days in favour of other midfield targets, including Ibrox-bound Vanja Dragojevic from Partizan Belgrade.

This comes after conflicting previous reports suggested that Rangers were on the verge of acquiring the Norweigan prodigy, who now feels increasingly likely to head to the Welsh capital in what would represent an outstanding coup from Brian Barry-Murphy's pen.

What fans are saying about Cardiff City's interest in Jens Hjertø-Dahl

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Talk of Cardiff City making a move for Jens Hjertø-Dahl has prompted a lot of comment online. This Cardiff fan feels that his club should be able to match any move that Rangers make for the player:

This fan feels that his club need to be more active in the summer transfer market if they're to flourish in the Championship:

But this fan isn't especially optimistic that his club will be able to get a deal over the line:

Jens Hjertø-Dahl has been one of the star performers in the Norwegian league this season

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Jens Hjertø-Dahl has been one of the star performers in an extremely successful first half of the season for the Norwegian club Tromsø. The Eliteserien is a summer league which recently returned from a summer break for the World Cup, and Tromsø are locked in a four-way race for the title alongside Viking, Bodø/Glimt and Lillestrom.

And Hjertø-Dahl's statistics for his club this season are seriously impressive, including a goal in each of his club's two league matches since their return to action. In total, he's scored an outstanding seven goals in 14 appearances for them this season from midfield.

The player is also a potential future Norwegian international player. He hasn't yet been capped by his country at senior level, but having represented them at u16, u17, u18, u19 u20 and u21 levels, it may be considered to be only a matter of time before he does get his opportunity.

It's no surprise, therefore, to see that he has attracted the interest of other clubs, and the prospect of European football in the Europa League, which Rangers secured after finishing third in the Scottish Premiership at the end of the 2025-26 season behind Hearts and Celtic, could prove tempting to the player.

But moving to a Championship club could equally be a good move for him, allowing, as it does, a foot in the door of the English league set-up and, should he be successful at The Cardiff City Stadium, potentially a move to the Premier League further down the line. He'd also be working with a highly spoken-of coach in the form of the current Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy.

Although still only 20 years of age, Hjertø-Dahl has already made over 100 appearances for Tromsø, so he has plenty of senior experience, and he may now face a difficult decision, over whether to move to Wales and the Championship, or to Scotland and the Scottish Premiership.