Aaron Ramsey Happy To Be Aboard The Bulut Train With Cardiff City

Aaron Ramsey insists he is on board the Bulut train and can ride it towards Championship success with Cardiff City this season.

The Wales captain has been written off by some after four years of late departures, leaves on the line and occasional derailments since he left Arsenal in 2019.

But having returned to his first club, Ramsey insists he is injury-free and can finally enjoy a smooth ride under their recently appointed Turkish boss, Erol Bulut.

“I feel good again,” said Ramsey, who has averaged 12 league starts per season since he left the Gunners in 2019.

“I kept myself ticking over in the off season and, I’ve been building up the minutes and I’m good to go.

“I still feel I’m capable of producing performances, so for me there was no better time to come back to Cardiff and to help them progress.”

After various injury issues, Ramsey showed he still has the durability to manage to make a combined 44 appearances for French club Nice and Wales last season.

His homecoming to the club he left 15 years ago, means the 32-year-old has managed to get Bluebirds fans all misty-eyed and they quickly sold out their aways fans’ allocation of 2,000 tickets for their opening trip to Leeds United next Sunday.

“Cardiff have had some low points in recent years, but they have also had some highs, like being in the Premier League,” added Ramsey.

“My aim is to help them get back there. I’ve met the new manager and had a few discussions about how he wants me to play, so I’m excited to get going.”

Ramsey played his last match in French football in May and then featured twice for Wales in June – against Armenia and Turkey – so Bulut insists there are not recent questions against his midfielder’s fitness.

“He has not lost any conditioning because he was not long away from the game,” said Bulut.

Ramsey played in Cardiff’s final pre-season warm -up game at the weekend, a goalless draw at Wycombe Wanderers.

READ MORE

Cardiff City can be pretty pleased with their work in the transfer window so far, but there is still a way to go if they are to harbour designs on challenging at the top end of the Championship table.

The Bluebirds have made five new additions already this summer with still a month left before the window closes. There are, however, positions which need bolstering.

It is understood that Cardiff are hopeful of completing one or potentially two deals for new players this week before Sunday’s Championship opener against Leeds United.

The Bluebirds are hopeful of at least one of the deals going through in the coming days, towards the end of the week, with centre-back and central midfield thought to be priority positions. Cardiff are also after a striker, too.

Jaden Philogene has impressed hugely during Aston Villa’s tour of America.

The winger was fantastic for Cardiff last season, particularly during the latter stages of the season as he helped the club stave off the threat of relegation.

It was thought Unai Emery would let him go this summer, but Philogene has started all three games for Villa in the US, only four players have done so.

So, might his next step be to stay at Villa Park this season? That’s what The Athletic report, claiming he has seized his chance and Emery is keen to keep him around now.

They also claim that Championship clubs have registered loan interest — it would be a huge surprise if Cardiff weren’t one of those — while four clubs in Turkey including Fenerbahce have also made their interest known.

Perry Ng says this is the “most excited” he’s been since arriving at Cardiff.

The defender signed in January 2021 and it has not been the smoothest of sailing in that time, let’s just say. But there is a cautious optimism going into this season and it is shared by Ng.

“It’s going to be a tough season, there are some very good clubs,” the right-back said of the season ahead.

“But this is the most excited I’ve been whilst I’ve been at Cardiff. I think it’s going to be a tough test, but I can’t wait to get going now and I think we are ready.”

He has a new role at right-back under Erol Bulut, coming inside to pack the midfield as an inverted wing-back. Talking through the role a little more, he said: “I’m enjoying it. [Bulut] wants us to come inside a lot more and it gives the winger a lot more space. I’m enjoying it and hopefully it works.

“I can get involved in the play a bit more and help Sheyi going forward on my wing. It creates a lot more space for him to do his thing one-v-one and create a lot more opportunities for us.”

Bluebirds midfielder Eli King made his debut for League Two side Morecambe on the weekend.

The Shrimpers lost 2-0 to Wigan Athletic, with King having been brought on for the final 20 minutes or so having sealed the move just the day before.

Oliver Denham also had a 20-minute runout for Dundee United in their win over Carlisle United, while Tom Davies was an unused substitute for Kilmarnock in their Scottish League Cup win over Albion Rovers.