Tonight's Cardiff City news as club look abroad for transfers and forward injured in training
Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Thursday, December 19.
Riza: We are looking at home and abroad in January
Omer Riza revealed everything was on the table heading into the January window, with a longlist of permanent and loan transfers from both the UK and abroad having been drawn up.
Riza has said he needs two or three new bodies in the building in the new year to help steer Cardiff away from danger in the second half of the season. Of course, the completion of the congested December fixture list could see their situation change drastically before the window opens.
READ MORE: Omer Riza reveals transfer wish for Cardiff City loanee as recall would pose issue
But ahead of a meeting with the club's decision-makers, Riza is confident he has "done his homework" and is ready to go with his list of targets next month. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
"We are always talking about players, potential for players to come in, whether it be free players, we are always looking," he said. "A longlist and a shortlist of players. We are down to have meetings with the board regarding transfers pretty soon and we can look once the window opens. Hopefully we will be in a good place.
"I think there will be an option of whether it will be loan or permanent, all depending on what the remit is when we sit down and have those final discussions about how we are going to approach it.
"We have got the option for loans ready and the option for (permanent) transfers ready. We are just ready to have that conversation now to say whether this is or isn't (viable) and move forwards.
"I have been doing my homework with players and positions we need to strengthen. I will sit down and communicate with the recruitment (department) and the club. Once we've all sat down together with the board, recruitment, myself, and we will make decisions accordingly."
Asked whether the incomings are likely to be from abroad or in the UK, he replied: "It will be both. It will all depend on our final conversations and where that leads to."
Reindorf suffers ankle injury amid positive Davies news
Young striker Michael Reindorf today suffered an ankle injury which could keep him out of Saturday's clash with Sheffield United.
Riza confirmed Perry Ng, who missed the last game through injury, and Ollie Tanner will not be available for the Blades' visit and to compound matters, 19-year-old striker Reindorf has now also joined the injury list.
On a more positive note, though, Riza did confirm that Isaak Davies is back running and is likely to join in with team training in the next week or so.
"Michael Reindorf went down injured today. He hurt his ankle and I'm not sure the extent of that yet," he said.
"The others, Isaak is starting to do some running on the pitch and we will hopefully incorporate him in football stuff over the next week. Kion (Etete) will be getting minutes with the under-21s this evening and all the rest are either long-standing or medium-term.
"Perry Ng is still not quite there yet. Ollie Tanner the same. We are a bit thin at the moment but all the boys are ready to go into the game confident and with fighting spirit."
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Goodman criticises club over Riza indecision
Sky Sports pundit and former striker Don Goodman has criticised the club's hierarchy for their indecision over handing Riza the job.
Goodman believes the 75 days in between Erol Bulut's sacking and Riza's hiring on a permanent basis sent out the wrong message and potentially undermined the current manager in doing so.
The former West Brom, Sunderland and Wolves striker believes Riza needs backing next month to solve the problems "at both ends of the pitch".
"It's been a tough season for Cardiff. The initial bounce they had after sacking Erol Bulut feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?" he told CoinPoker.
"They haven't won in seven which is a real worry and I don't think the hierarchy helped things by the delay in giving Omer Riza the job on a permanent basis. It sent out a message that they weren't quite sure about him or that they didn't quite have faith in him. Otherwise, they would have given Riza the job a lot earlier than they actually did.
"That would have been felt by the players which makes it a difficult task. Are they going to back him in January? Well, the summer recruitment looks poor in hindsight and they're struggling at both ends of the pitch.
"I wonder whether, for Cardiff City, it will be a case of them just hoping there are three worse teams than them in the Championship. They're in a rut and need to get themselves out of it. Conceding in additional time against Stoke certainly won't help them."
Next up for Riza and his charges is league-leading Sheffield United and Goodman believes the Bluebirds are in for a tough afternoon.
"It's now no win in seven for Cardiff City after they conceded in injury time against Stoke at the weekend. That makes it really hard to go for a Bluebirds win against a team who are flying at the top end of the table," he added.
"United are unbeaten in 10, winning eight of those. In those wins, they've kept seven clean sheets. I couldn't possibly go against Sheffield United win"
