£1.5m Cardiff City signing tipped for "certain" summer transfer exit | OneFootball

Callum Robinson has struggled for game time at Cardiff City this season

Despite a damaging 2-0 home defeat to Lincoln City at the weekend, Cardiff City remain in strong contention for automatic promotion back to the Championship this season.

Indeed, their home defeat at the hands of the Imps was a particularly damaging one, losing their place at the summit of the table as a result.

Under the guidance of Irish boss Brian Barry-Murphy, the Bluebirds find themselves well-placed for an automatic promotion spot come the end of the season and earn their place back in the Championship once again.

The likes of Yousef Salech, Chris Willock, Cian Ashford, Rubin Colwill, and Ollie Tanner have excelled after stepping down a division, whilst Omari Kellyman's addition to the frontline has only served to help their cause.

However, one player has seen their game time deplete since relegation, with an exit from the club this summer now looking likely after falling down the pecking order.

Callum Robinson has seen his game time at Cardiff City slashed this season

Callum Robinson has seen his game time take a drastic hit since dropping to the third tier this season, with the 31-year-old having made 32 league appearances, though just six of those came from the start, adding up to less than 1,000 minutes in total.

This has led to six goals and one assist in the league, with Robinson - who signed from West Brom in 2022 for £1.5 million - now firmly behind numerous team-mates in the pecking order, which in turn could lead to a potential exit from the Welsh capital this summer.

Football League World's Cardiff fan pundit, Matt Hall, has shared their thoughts on whether Robinson has done enough to merit more game time with the Bluebirds, or whether he should leave the club this summer in search of more minutes elsewhere.

Matt told FLW: "Yeah, I'm as certain about this as I am about anything else, really, that this is going to be the last string of games that Callum Robinson plays in a Cardiff shirt."I think his desperation to score and to prove himself is a clear showing of that. I think he knows deep down that he's not necessarily favoured. I think you could probably have him down as the fifth or sixth choice."Obviously, you use the examples of Yousef Salech, and you've got Ruben Colwill and Omari Kellyman. I'd argue then that you've probably got Isaak Davies in front of him as well. So you're looking at him being probably your fifth choice.

"Obviously, he is always on the bench. He's not someone who tends to drop out of matchday squads because he has got that ability to get a goal. But I think you look at him of late, he started at home against Luton, and he was really good in that game. But really, that is sort of where it stuttered and stopped."He had a good run of games where he scored against Orient and Bradford, and I just thought maybe this might be him kicking into gear, but it just never really got going for him. And unfortunately, when he started lately, he's been getting bullied off the ball."He loses possession quite a lot, whereas you see Ruben and Omari Kellyman playing that role in there, taking the ball on the half turn, they're dropping in, they're creating from deep as well as scoring. So, you know, it is quite hard to see him getting back in, but I think he will leave."But, you know, we've got so many of these players who have performed well in bad sides in a toxic Cardiff. But for him to be able to leave when the club is going on a high and for him to leave on a high would be fantastic. I think that's exactly how it should be."

Callum Robinson will likely leave Cardiff City this summer after falling out of favour under Brian Barry-Murphy

Whether Cardiff indeed find themselves in the second tier or not next season, Robinson's time in the Welsh capital is likely coming to a close.

Having first shot into prominence whilst with Preston North End, Robinson look destined for a top career in the Championship, with the potential to go on and become a Premier League player.

The Irishman will likely be pleased with how his career has panned out, with over 270 appearances in the second tier and just shy of a century of goal contributions, with 48 Premier League appearances to his name, Robinson certainly hasn't had a bad career by almost any metric.

However, now 31 years of age, his time at Cardiff appears to be coming to an end, with Barry-Murphy unlikely to increase his game time should they indeed earn promotion.