Cardiff City may have trump card for Leicester City transfer reunion - It would divide the Bluebirds faithful | OneFootball

Cardiff City had Will Alves on loan from Leicester for the second half of 2024-25, but bringing him back for a second spell might divide supporters.

Cardiff City have an ace up their sleeve, should they wish to bring Will Alves back to the Cardiff City Stadium for the 2025-26 season, but this doesn't mean that it would be a universally popular decision.

After finishing the 2024-25 season rock bottom of the Championship, Cardiff City have a lot of work to do ahead of the start of the new season.

And when it comes to one loan player, they have a definite advantage should they wish to bring him back for a second bite of the cherry, next time around.

The decision to appoint former Leicester assistant Brian Barry-Murphy as their new head coach would give them a definite advantage in any further pursuit of gifted winger Will Alves, who spent the second half of the 2024-25 season on loan from the Foxes.

Alves briefly worked under Barry-Murphy before heading out to the Welsh capital, while the Irishman's proven expertise in developing young talent from his days in charge of Manchester City's Elite Development squad mean that Cardiff could be one of the more popular EFL destinations for promising players to be loaned out in 25/26.

Cardiff City fans have mixed opinions on Leicester City's Will Alves

But this doesn't necessarily mean that bringing Alves back would be a good idea, and it might even cause a split of opinion among Cardiff supporters.

This is because, although Alves only spent half a season on loan with them from Leicester, his time with the club wasn't consistent.

Cardiff supporters would be right to ask the question of which Will Alves they might be getting, because the one that ended the season with them was very different to the one who arrived at the club at the start of February.

Will Alves' form tailed off in 2024-25 as Cardiff's did as well

Having represented England at under-17, under-18 and under-20 levels, there was plenty of reason for Cardiff supporters to be optimistic when his arrival at their club was confirmed at the start of February, despite the fact that he'd only made one Premier League appearance for Leicester.

And initially, that confidence seemed well-placed. He started encouragingly, with three assists in his first seven appearances for the club. But his form started to tail off, as did that of his surrounding team, with concerns about his end product.

It's very clear that Alves is a player with bags of potential, but consistency is also important throughout a 46-game League season. And the figures for the 2024-25 season were not encouraging, in that respect.

That exciting start soon started to tail off, as could be seen in his average game ratings. At the time that both Alves and Cardiff in a broader sense needed to kick on, they failed to do so. The team failed to win any of their last twelve games of the season, and Alves' individual ratings dropped in line with this.

Brian Barry-Murphy is familiar with Alves from the time they spent together at Leicester, but that tail-off in form is a worry. If he did make the decision to re-sign him and Alves could recreate the form of the first few weeks of his previous spell at Cardiff, it could be an inspired move. But as Cardiff supporters who suffered through those last few weeks of the season will already be aware, there are no guarantees of that.

Alves is undeniably talented and that raw quality was seldom lost on supporters. His close control and ability to beat a man with his low centre of gravity was mesmerising at times, but the winger often let himself down with a lack of crucial decision-making and end product when it mattered most.

Of course, such challenges are only to be expected of a young, technical attacking player embarking on a first loan move elsewhere, and if Alves can iron out the inconsistencies of his game then he could be a real asset at Championship level, never mind League One.

But a split of opinion will undeniably be revealed, should Barry-Murphy look to exercise his Leicester links and test the waters for a potential reunion with Alves back at Cardiff.