Birmingham City & Derby County can still spoil Cardiff City's Chelsea, Omari Kellyman transfer dream | OneFootball

Cardiff City remain interested in re-signing Omari Kellyman, but Birmingham City and Derby County should be looking to broker deals with Chelsea

Omari Kellyman's next destination currently remains unclear, with the talented attacker set to weigh up his options in search of regular football away from Chelsea after inspiring Cardiff City's return to the Championship last season.

Having joined Chelsea in an eye-catching £19 million deal from Aston Villa two years ago, the 20-year-old completed an impressive breakthrough in senior football with the Bluebirds by scoring 11 goals in 36 League One appearances.

Cardiff fans have naturally clamoured for the return of Kellyman, who will go down as one of the Welsh side's most successful loan signings in many years, and popular head coach Brian Barry-Murphy is also eager to bring the playmaker back to South Wales for a second season.

However, Kellyman himself would reportedly prefer to play abroad - even though Chelsea ultimately hold the cards and a step up to the second-tier remains a "serious option", with a host of Cardiff's divisional rivals expected to make their moves.

Indeed, the Bluebirds will naturally fancy their chances of striking a deal after giving Kellyman a platform and accelerating his development, helped by the fact he found his time in the Welsh capital to be thoroughly enjoyable, although they will understand that they are poised to face fierce competition for his sought-after signature in the coming weeks.

With Kellyman currently away with Xabi Alonso's squad for Chelsea's pre-season tour of Australia, one can expect speculation surrounding the attacking midfielder's future to intensify upon returning to England and, with that in mind, Football League World has looked at two Championship clubs who should consider joining Cardiff in the race for his signing.

Birmingham City

Birmingham City have a clear dearth of options in attacking midfield, which represents a problem position in need of addressing for Chris Davies if he is to justify the club's staunch show of faith and backing in the transfer market to direct a promotion push next season.

Currently playing behind the striker is Jay Stansfield, although with the £15 million starlet very much a centre-forward by trade, a natural option with the ability to provide a fresh dimension of creativity and help Davies' often-ball-dominant side break down low blocks feels necessary and Kellyman would tick that box.

It's worth noting that the ex-Aston Villa academy star seldom operated in that area of the pitch for Cardiff owing to the presence of talismanic vice-captain playmaker Rubin Colwill, instead finding opportunities on the right flank or as a withdrawn striker during Yousef Salech's extensive absence through injury during the second-half of the season.

However, that's where Kellyman did play the vast majority of his football when rising through the ranks of Derby County and then Villa, with his powerful ball-carrying qualities, spatial awareness, willingness to drive into pockets of space and acute vision in tight spaces making him a viable option in central attacking midfield.

Kellyman's positional flexibility is perhaps the most outstanding asset in his arsenal, and he would also be a shrewd rotation option on the right-hand side with Spanish winger Carlos Vicente.

Birmingham are rather well-stocked in the striking stable following the arrival of imposing Argentine attacker Luis Vazquez, who represents a hugely-contrasting profile, so Kellyman wouldn't necessarily need to fill in there as much as he did at Cardiff last time out.

The parallels between Chris Davies' modus operandi and the style of football which Kellyman familarised himself with under Barry-Murphy also helps, meaning he could be a shrewd and seamless fit into a side that will intend on going all the way to promotion in 2026/27.

Derby County

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It would be amiss to overlook Derby County, where Kellyman may well feel he has unfinished business after coming through the Rams' esteemed youth ranks without ever making a senior appearance.

That is, of course, because he joined Aston Villa back in 2022, though it's hard to see why a potential return to Pride Park wouldn't be attractive for the Derby-born prospect.

Kellyman will no doubt believe that he is good enough to stamp down his authority on a team with tangible promotion ambitions - which he is, for that matter, and Chelsea should also feel as such - and Derby are expected to stake a strong challenge for a play-off finish after only missing out on the top-six on the final day of the previous season following an uplifting and transformative first full campaign under John Eustace.

The Rams will now be aspiring to go one better next term and adding Kellyman back to the ranks some four years on from his exit would only serve to strengthen those aims.

Derby, unlike Birmingham, have no shortage of options in Kellyman's most natural role and have already sealed the £6 million return of Bobby Clark following his breakout loan stint in the East Midlands last term, whereas another 25/26 loanee in Sammie Szmodics is also set to rejoin from Ipswich Town.

However, Eustace isn't quite as blessed on the right-hand side. That's where Ben Brereton-Diaz featured while on loan from Southampton, though Kellyman represents a wholesale upgrade on a technical basis in any case and Patrick Agyemang's spell on the sidelines until the new year means he could also lead the line, even if Derby can already call upon Carlton Morris.