Why Cardiff City will secretly pray for Craig Bellamy to join Burnley | OneFootball

Cardiff City fans may be hoping that Wales manager Craig Bellamy takes over at Burnley amid reports of the Clarets' interest in Brian Barry-Murphy.

As Cardiff City prepare for life back in the Championship, they may have one eye on developments at Burnley over the coming weeks.

After being relegated from the Championship last season, Cardiff were facing the prospect of playing in the third tier of English football for the first time in 22 years, and they named former Manchester City academy coach Brian Barry-Murphy as their new head coach in the summer.

While Barry-Murphy is a highly-rated coach, his appointment was something of a risk for the Bluebirds as his only previous managerial experience came with Rochdale, where he suffered relegation from League One in the 2020-21 season.

However, Barry-Murphy has proven to be an inspired choice for Cardiff, and after spending much of the season in the top two, the Welsh outfit secured promotion following a 3-1 victory at Reading last month, with three games of the campaign still remaining.

Bluebirds supporters will be hoping to continue their progression under Barry-Murphy in the Championship next season, but reports of interest from Burnley in the 45-year-old will no doubt cause concern at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Cardiff City could face fresh Brian Barry-Murphy threat as Burnley weigh up move

It has been an incredibly disappointing season for Burnley in the Premier League, and despite making a promising start to the campaign, they have been significantly short of the quality needed to compete at the highest level.

The Clarets' relegation was confirmed last week following a 1-0 home defeat to title contenders Manchester City, and as they begin preparations for their return to the Championship, they parted company with head coach Scott Parker on Thursday.

While Parker has only just left the club, it seems Burnley have already been considering potential replacements, and according to the BBC, Wales manager Craig Bellamy, who previously served as Vincent Kompany's assistant at Turf Moor, is a "serious candidate" for the vacancy.

Former Rangers and Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has been heavily linked with the Clarets in recent days, but there has been "no formal contact" between the club and the 45-year-old, who is also thought to be in the frame for the Bristol City job.

However, while it seems that Bellamy and Gerrard are the two front-runners to succeed Parker at this stage, Burnley have also reportedly "made checks" on Barry-Murphy as they continue to weigh up their options.

Speculation about interest from elsewhere in Barry-Murphy is nothing new for Cardiff, with the Irishman said to have been on the radar of Middlesbrough and Celtic back in November, but with a League One promotion under his belt, he may now be a more attractive proposition for clubs from higher divisions.

Cardiff City fans may have bittersweet Craig Bellamy wish amid Brian Barry-Murphy, Burnley talk

It seems that Burnley hold nothing more than a tentative interest in Barry-Murphy at present, but that could quickly change, with the BBC reporting that they face an "uphill battle" to convince Bellamy to return to Turf Moor.

Bellamy is said to be "enjoying" his time as Wales manager and is "relishing" the chance to lead his nation at a home European Championship in 2028, while he is also believed to have "some reservations about the current make-up of the Burnley squad and how much work may be required this summer".

After assisting Kompany during the Clarets' Championship title-winning campaign in the 2022-23 season, Bellamy was reportedly one of the contenders to replace the Belgian prior to Parker's appointment, and with owner Alan Pace clearly still a big admirer, he may view it as the perfect place to launch his managerial career at club level.

However, after the agonising penalty shootout loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their World Cup play-off in March, Bellamy may be reluctant to end his tenure as Wales manager on such a devastating note, and should he reject Burnley, they would have to turn their attention to other candidates, which could see them make a move for Barry-Murphy.

Bellamy has done an excellent job since taking over as Wales manager in July 2024, and his side were arguably unlucky not to qualify automatically for the World Cup after finishing just two points behind Belgium in their group, despite having a much weaker squad on paper.

Cardiff supporters, many of whom will no doubt also be passionate followers of their national team, would likely be disappointed to see Bellamy walk away from his role with Wales, but there may be some who are secretly hoping that he will take over at Burnley to prevent them coming in for Barry-Murphy.

Whether club or country should take priority has long been a debate among football fans, but the Bluebirds faithful will certainly be torn between those two loyalties after both Bellamy and Barry-Murphy were linked with the Clarets.