Two Cardiff City players just saw their situations change drastically as clubs 'trying to agree transfer fee'
We are hurtling towards the January transfer window and while Cardiff City are in desperate need of reinforcements, there are decisions to be made elsewhere, too.
The Bluebirds currently have nine players out on loan and the club will no doubt be monitoring their progress, game-time and performances while away from the Welsh capital.
Some have seen their situations change drastically in terms of managerial changes, while others have suffered injury or a struggle to break into the first teams. Others, meanwhile, have thrived, with one even in talks over making the loan transfer permanent.
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We take a look at the players currently out on loan from Cardiff City...
Roko Simic
It's been a disaster, pretty much, for the Croatian out on loan at KV Kortrijk. Barely kicked a ball in anger and has now suffered an injury which will keep him out until the new year.
His situation has just changed drastically, though, following last night's announcement that manager Freyr Alexandersson has been sacked by KVK following their disappointing start to the season.
Alexandersson had previously admitted fault in his mismanagement of Simic following his loan arrival at the beginning of the season and revealed the club were considering sending him back to south Wales for a January recall. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
Whether Kortrijk's new manager, Yves Vanderhaeghe, will have a different perspective on the striker - who has just four substitute appearances to his name for the Belgian club, with no goals - remains to be seen.
Ryan Wintle
Erol Bulut pushed hard to get Wintle out of the club in the summer, with the Turkish manager hopeful of securing a transfer fee for the midfielder.
But Wintle, fresh off the back of signing a new, lengthy deal just over 12 months ago, took the pragmatic approach of opting for a loan, in the knowledge that managers don't tend to last very long at Cardiff and that a potential reprisal could be on the cards in the not-too-distant future. And that has proved to be the case.
Like Simic, though, his situation has just changed, too, with Neil Harris making the shock announcement that he would leave Millwall following a positive start to the campaign for the Lions.
Wintle has had to be patient during his time at The Den, he has made just three starts and has come off the bench on nine occasions. There are suggestions from some supporters at Cardiff that Wintle would suit Omer Riza's brand of football far more than Bulut's, leading some to call for him to be brought back in the new year. What Riza thinks of that situation is an interesting thought, too.
Again, the new person in The Den hot-seat will have a big say on that, of course.
Raheem Conte
Another largely disappointing loan stint, with Conte having played just 29 minutes since October 5 for his new team Woking in the National League.
Conte was something of a surprise package last season when he played at right-back towards the end of the campaign and looked to offer something a little different, showcasing some real pace, an asset which is hard to come by in the Bluebirds' squad, and energy from the right-hand side of defence.
But injury has hampered the 22-year-old's time at Woking, missing a month of action from the middle of October to the middle of November, and he has been an unused sub in their last two matches. One the club will be keeping an eye on, no doubt.
Malachi Fagan-Walcott
Ask any York City fan and they will rave about Malachi Fagan-Walcott's time in the National League so far this term. Some even believe he is the best loan signing in the division this season.
It's so hard for centre-backs to get their chance higher up the Football League and so often defenders cut their teeth in the lower leagues before being eased into first teams. That seemed to be the plan for Fagan-Walcott, who looked impressive during Cardiff's pre-season camp.
However, reports last month surfaced that York were in talks with Cardiff over making the 22-year-old a permanent signing. And manager Adam Hinshelwood confirmed as much.
“I think we are in talks,” Hinshelwood said. “We’re keen for Malachi to be a York player permanently, he’s been a really big signing for us, he’s 22-years-old and has got so much ability.
“It’s just a case of trying to agree a fee with Cardiff and seeing if that is possible to do. Those sorts of talks are happening, and the finer details have not been agreed yet. But I do believe that the talks are going well.”
It would be a shame, because he is a player Cardiff had earmarked as a future Bluebirds centre-back, but all parties have to be satisfied with the plan, of course.
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Eli King
Eli King has been fortunate enough to have enjoyed three very positive previous loan spells. At Crewe, Morecambe and Ross County he has been given plenty of game time and taken to all levels seamlessly.
This most recent challenge at League One Stevenage has been a little trickier, though, with the Wales youth international having played just 11 times for them in the league, starting only six matches.
The 21-year-old is another who has his admirers within the club and the Bluebirds fan base, but with that central midfield area of the squad so heavily contested, it looks unlikely he will muscle his way into the fray this season. Perhaps a season-long battle for the shirt at Stevenage might just add that extra fight in him to take him to the next level.
Joel Colwill
Another of the more impressive loans, Colwill started like a house on fire at Cheltenham Town, scoring three times in the space of a month against Newport County not long after making the switch.
There are high hopes for Colwill, brother of Rubin, of course, and he has started to show just why that is the case, albeit in League Two. The midfielder has had nine goal involvements - six scored, three assisted - in his 24 appearances in all competitions for the Gloucestershire club.
At 20 years old there is cause for real optimism for Colwill's future. As mentioned, that midfield area has a lot of competition and there is a school of thought that suggests leaving him at Cheltenham for the season, where he is thriving, is probably the best thing for Cardiff in the long term. And given the current environment at City - a relegation scrap - is it the most conducive of environments to be welcoming him back into?
But, on the other side of that argument, if you're good enough, you're old enough. Are Cardiff in a strong enough position to leave a goal-contributing, box-to-box midfielder out on loan when they need all hands to the pump? One which will be talked about over the next few weeks, one suspects.
Kieron Evans
It always felt like if it was going to happen for Kieron Evans at Cardiff, it would have been last year. He had a wonderful pre-season and it was seemingly a straight shootout between him and Ollie Tanner with regards to who would get that first-team wing chance.
Tanner won out and Evans didn't kick a ball in the league for Cardiff last year, ending up out on loan at Gateshead for the second half of the campaign.
The 22-year-old signed a one-year deal in the summer, likely for compensation purposes, before penning a loan move to Newport County.
The former Wales youth international has been a regular fixture at Rodney Parade, notching four assists in his 22 appearances, and looks to have settled in League Two. There is no chance of him coming back to Cardiff in the new year, however.
He was quizzed about his future last week, but said it was too early to decide where his career will take him next.
