Cardiff City must ruin Jack Wilshere's Luton Town transfer dream | OneFootball

Jack Wilshere is hoping to complete one particular Luton Town transfer deal - and Cardiff City should look to hijack it

Cardiff City supporters will desperately hope to see the transfer cogs begin to spin in the coming days and weeks as the Bluebirds look to arm Brian Barry-Murphy with a squad capable of competing at Championship level after romping to promotion at the very first time of asking last season.

City have been rather inactive in this summer's transfer window to date, which will perhaps leave few surprised considering Barry-Murphy's well-documented preference for quality over quantity and similarly slow-moving business this last time year, although the Championship represents a different kettle of fish to League One and even the most optimistic of supporters will realise that additions are needed in order to continue the momentum from such a revitalising campaign and reconsolidate in the second-tier.

At the time of writing, Cardiff's sole piece of business remains the permanent addition of Nathan Trott following the goalkeeper's impressive loan stint from Danish outfit FC Copenhagen, a deal which contained a purchase option, and while continuity is key and a strong squad core with an academy-centred heartbeat has been carefully-constructed, a raft of reinforcements will be required before the Bluebirds commence the 2026/27 term with a bumper all-Welsh showdown against Wrexham on August 17.

Numerous positions require addressing throughout the summer months and, as Cardiff's key decision-makers begin to intensify movement in the market, they would be well-served by eyeing up a familiar name who could amend a notable area of weakness while leaving Jack Wilshere reeling in the process...

Cardiff City must add wingers this summer

Bolstering the wide options at Barry-Murphy's disposal represents a crucial call of duty for Cardiff before the window closes, with additions surely a necessity to cope with the increased demands of returning to the Championship.

The loss of Chelsea loanee Omari Kellyman, who flourished on loan in the Welsh capital with 11 League One goals and often operated out wide alongside leading the line and playing in attacking midfield, leaves more than one hole to be filled.

In terms of the existing candidates, it's perhaps Chris Willock and Ollie Tanner who are the two strongest propositions for Barry-Murphy to call upon at this moment in time. The two wingers thrived in League One, with Tanner's haul of assists offering an extra X-Factor to Cardiff's attack towards the back-end of the campaign, but both have previously struggled for consistency in the second-tier and are hardly supported by strength in depth.

Cian Ashford is capable on either flank and brings no shortage of redeeming qualities through his work-ethic, positional discipline and ball retention, although just four goals and three assists rendered a rather meager return for a player who had been tipped to have an explosive impact upon relegation to the third-tier.

There's also Isaak Davies, who has often featured on the left-hand side under Barry-Murphy, yet the speedy Welshman has seldom looked comfortable there and his injury record also provides a point of concern.

Adding at least one, if not two, new wingers may just be the order of the day this summer, made all the more pertinent by the fact that Cardiff will be afforded less scope to unrelentingly dominate possession against tougher Championship opponents and will therefore need to be more direct and front-footed.

Of course, the uber-principled and progressive Barry-Murphy will not be abandoning his philosophy, but Cardiff will need to have more than one string to their bow against a variation of playing styles in a fundamentally higher-quality division, and reinforcing the stable of wide-men to meet those demands is of utmost importance.

Cardiff City must scupper Luton Town, Jack Wilshere transfer dream with Luton Town deal

There are a host of wingers who will be under consideration, and it would be no surprise to see Emilio Lawrence's name return to contention.

Such a move would make a great deal of sense, with reports on social media having suggested Cardiff were intent on landing the Manchester City prospect last summer before opting with the aforementioned Kellyman instead.

That would see Lawrence stick out the first-half of the campaign with the Cityzens' under-21 set-up before obtaining his first real taste of senior football in January by joining Luton Town, where he excelled in spite of the Hatters' failure to reach the League One play-offs.

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Capable of operating on the left-hand side of a front three or even in a less-conventional left wing-back role, Lawrence coupled his speed, trickery and creative output with a willingness to regain possession high up the pitch to become something of a fan favourite at Kenilworth Road.

The 21-year-old scored once and produced five assists from 17 league outings, a number of which were spent deployed at wing-back, while also managing to get on the scoresheet at Wembley in Luton's 3-1 EFL Trophy final victory over Stockport County.

It's no great shock, then, that Wilshere has publicly voiced his desire to bring Lawrence back to the club ahead of the upcoming campaign. The former Arsenal and England midfielder recently told the press: "We lost Emilio out of the group that is now, so I think we want that, but we also know that it’s quality and we’re not just going to take anyone.”

The element of familiarity, of course, means that Luton shouldn't be discounted from a likely race for Lawrence's signature, even if the winger's body of work in the third-tier and richly-exciting level of potential means that a step-up to the Championship would feel like the more likely destination next term.

He will have plenty of suitors in his wake, that much already feels inevitable, and Cardiff should be pushing their way to the front of the queue.

It only feels like a matter of time before Barry-Murphy doubles down to fully exercise his Manchester City connections, having leveraged the relationship with then-Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca to land Kellyman on loan from Stamford Bridge last summer, and they could just leave Cardiff rather well placed to land the talented Scotland youth international and address a key problem position moving into next term.