Cardiff City's Championship transfer plans become clearer - Brian Barry-Murphy has revealed it | OneFootball

The Bluebirds will be playing Championship football next season.

Cardiff City had already celebrated promotion to the Championship prior to their 5-1 drubbing of relegated Northampton Town, but that victory meant they could make a proper occasion of it.

Today marks a year since the Bluebirds were relegated to League One, and although they were expected to achieve an instant return to the second tier, things are never that straightforward in football.

Looking ahead, Brian Barry-Murphy knows that the Welsh club have plenty of work to do if they are to compete in the Championship, and now they must decide which areas to strengthen in the summer.

Indeed, Cardiff's head coach has been speaking to the media in the wake of their recent triumph and was clear in addressing what they must do in the transfer market.

Brian Barry-Murphy lays out Cardiff City's transfer plans

The Bluebirds have achieved promotion to the second tier with a vibrant, young side, but with the club set to compete with the likes of Burnley and Wolves, they must decide how to develop, improve and ultimately survive.

Having achieved promotion, many teams completely overhaul their squads, which can be a bit of a lottery, but it seems that Barry-Murphy knows exactly what Cardiff must do - and it won't include signing a mass amount of new individuals to change up his squad.

“I don’t believe in signing loads of players,” he told Wales Online.

“I believe in signing high-quality players. For a club with our supporters, they want to see a team they fall in love with. So it’s quality over quantity - always.”

While the 47-year-old said that his focus was very much on winning games, he provided further insight on what the club have been trying to build since he took the reins.

“What we’ve tried to do since coming to the club is be really progressive and plan to improve the squad throughout the season in each window,” the Irishman continued.

"The guys behind the scenes will have been working away all the time.”

Barry-Murphy's comments suggest that he might be leaving transfer plans to those behind the scenes, but reports outline that he may actually have quite an active role.

What positions might Cardiff City strengthen this summer?

Last summer, the Bluebirds only made a handful of signings, with Gabriel Osho arriving permanently from AJ Auxerre, while Omari Kellyman and Nathan Trott both joined on loan.

However, this time round, it has been reported that owner Vincent Tan is willing to provide funds for permanent signings at Cardiff on the condition that his head coach can convince him of prospective acquisitions.

Furthermore, it is believed that the Welsh club are targeting around four to six signings, with midfielders, wingers and full-backs the positions in need of bolstering.

Two of their first decisions will surely be around loan pair Kellyman and Trott, who have both impressed during their loan spells at the club.

It is thought that a second potential loan deal for Kellyman is possible this summer, while Cardiff's promotion has meant that they now have a £1.5 million option to buy Trott, which they must decide whether to activate.

Despite having the option to buy the goalkeeper, it has been reported that the Bluebirds could find it difficult to complete a deal amid rising interest from Championship clubs, and Trott could pursue that avenue instead.

Of course, the loan market could prove integral to their success next season, as is so often the case in the Championship, and if they can bring in players from Premier League sides, then survival may beckon.

Barry-Murphy's squad may be young, but he has managed to build a solid balance between defence and attack this campaign, and given what he has achieved, it seems that targeting quality over quantity is just what they need.