Cardiff City's transfer window finally appears to be up and running, however the Bluebirds need more reinforcements before the window closes if they are to climb out of relegation trouble.

Ahead of Saturday's South Wales derby, Cardiff sit 21st in the table, just one point above Hull City and Portsmouth, with the latter having a game in hand over them.

Omer Riza wants as many as four players in before the window shuts on February 3 and while the club look close on one, there is still work to be done on getting others in.

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A deal to bring Yousef Salech to Cardiff City is understood to be close. Cardiff and Swedish outfit Sirius have agreed a total fee of more than £3m to bring the 22-year-old to south Wales. It is hoped the deal will be formalised in the next 24 hours.

The striker comes off the back of a decent season in the Swedish top flight, where he scored 11 league goals in 27 outings and a further two in cup competitions last term. You can read more about his style of play here.

Whether that form translates to goals in the Championship remains to be seen, of course, with Cardiff having struggled with foreign striker signings and their apparent inability to adapt to life in the English second tier in the past. They'll hope for more of a Sory Kaba impact as opposed to some of the output that others managed.

Nevertheless, it gets Cardiff's window moving and now Riza will have Callum Robinson, Salech, Kion Etete, Roko Simic and Isaak Davies, in the not-too-distant future, from which to choose moving forward. Wilfried Kanga's future at the club still hangs in the balance. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.

The Bluebirds' pursuit of Ricky-Jade Jones appears to have cooled after Peterborough knocked back a bid from the Welsh club.

Cardiff are in the market for a rapid wide man and they had their sights set on the Posh winger, who is reportedly the fastest player in world football after being clocked at 22.3mph.

Sheffield United now look to be leading the race for 22-year-old, while Middlesbrough also remain keen on the player who has scored 11 goals in all competitions so far this season.

The chances of Cardiff going back in with an improved second bid now look remote.

Another Peterborough man linked with a move to the Welsh capital was Posh captain Hector Kyprianou. The central midfielder knows Riza from their days together at Leyton Orient and the Bluebirds boss has been an admirer for a number of years.

While Cardiff do like the player, it is understood that the Cyprus international is likely to run his contract out at London Road and leave as a free agent in the summer.

Peterborough are likely to lose a couple of players in this window, including Jones, and chief Darragh MacAnthony has insisted they will not do a total rebuild job this month. He also hinted that they are likely to need a Kyprianou replacement in the summer, rather than in the coming weeks. Expect him to move in the summer.

While Riza has stated that he is willing to leave players out of his own 25-man squad if necessary, in an ideal world they need to start shipping some deadwood to make the squad and wage bill more balanced.

Loan and permanent departures are in the offing, however the club are getting increasingly frustrated at how long these exit deals are taking. The likes of Wilfried Kanga, Jamilu Collins, Yakou Meite and Anwar El Ghazi have either disappointed or been on the fringes and could represent big money off the wage bill if permanent homes were to be found for them. Plus, with the striker stable so packed now, Michael Reindorf and potentially even Kion Etete could benefit from loans away to gain some confidence and bag first-team minutes.

In terms of incomings, Cardiff still want pace and wide players. They could well turn to loan signings from top-flight clubs for that.

It is a key weakness for Cardiff and has been for some time, that lack of pace. Not since the departure of Josh Murphy have Cardiff had a player who could really worry full-backs with a burst in behind and it's made them easier to defend against, with the game largely being played in front of opposition centre-backs.

Another window cannot go by without at least one pacey player through the door and the club must address that as a matter of urgency once the Salech signing is secured.

Cardiff won't want these transfers dragging on late in the window but the indications right now point towards that becoming an eventuality.

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It is a tough sell at Cardiff at the moment - entirely of their own making, it should be noted - in the midst of yet another short-term project and a relegation battle on their hands. That goes for new signings and current players.

The Bluebirds have 12 permanent players out of contract in the summer. There is an option on Aaron Ramsey, while Joe Ralls' deal triggers another year if he meets an appearance threshold, but there are lots of key players heading out of contract, too.

Callum O'Dowda, Callum Robinson, Davies and Dimitrios Goutas spring out as obvious players the club would want to nail down for next year and beyond. Will they want to stay, though? Relegation battles is likely not what they signed up for and it's likely why no players have penned new deals this term - a stark contract to last season.

Riza has made his recommendations to the board and it is now down to the hierarchy to action them, if they see fit. There is a case for clearing out deadwood and upgrading on a number of players, but this club does not need a total rebuild once again in the summer, no matter which division they find themselves in.

Half of January has gone by and while we are close to the first bit of business getting done, but there needs to be real urgency in the final fortnight of the window. While the club are, of course, scurrying away behind the scenes, their relegation rivals are making moves and Cardiff cannot be caught cold this winter.