Cardiff City’s academy site is another major investment from Vincent Tan as the chief discusses his January transfer plans and season targets.

Bluebirds chief executive Ken Choo said the construction of Cardiff City’s impressive new academy site is further demonstration of owner Vincent Tan’s commitment and passion for the club.

The club officially cut the ribbon on their state-of-the-art academy site in Llanrumney on Tuesday morning and to be fair, it is a magnificent piece of architecture which the club hopes will help attract attracting the best young talent to the Nation’s capital. Wales. clubs and help them increase the number of academy graduates for generations to come.

The £8 million project, whose funding is shared between Cardiff Council, Cardiff University, Cardiff City and the Sports House, is another significant financial commitment by Tan, who continues to fund the project. despite meager profits in recent years. .

But after a few disappointing seasons, we have a feeling that the tide is slowly turning. Money was invested in the squad over the summer, despite the transfer embargo, and the season got off to a positive start, including a win in the South Wales derby on Saturday night. This, coupled with the start of a new era for Cardiff’s youth with the opening of the academy site, all paint a very positive picture. To get the latest Bluebirds news straight to your inbox, sign up here.

It is pleasing to see Tan actually reinvesting in the club, as he has done regularly during his 10 years in charge.

However, the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic has forced purse strings as businesses, especially entertainment businesses like Tan’s, have been hit hard.

This means Cardiff must significantly reduce wage costs, which entails a lengthy transition period and major squad overhauls. There is finally some stability and after a 3-2 win over Coventry City on Tuesday night, the Bluebirds sit in the top half of the table.

So, with new investment and commitment from owners, what will January look like? Well, Choo said that the club will review the amount of investment in the team in the new year when the transfer embargo is lifted.

Choo added: “It’s not about the embargo, it’s about what you can do and the transfer committee headed by Mehmet [Dalman, chairman] has been really effective, we’ve got business good even when there is an embargo.”

“Looking back, we can say we did better during the lockdown, because you have to work harder with the restrictions. We are trying to build gradually to improve the team. You can’t do it overnight. It will take us a little time, a season or two to get there.

“If this season, if we can get to the end of the first half, it will be a big step up from last season. Then we’ll go from there. We know that Rome wasn’t built in a day, so we’ll take it step by step.

“Vincent has been in business for more than 10 years, during this time there will always be ups and downs, belt tightening, it is normal for any businessman to go through this cycle. Things are relaxing, the economy is starting to grow again so Vincent is making us reinvest more in players and so on, so it’s a normal cycle.

“Vincent is very happy with Erol (Bulut) and has a good relationship with him. Mehmet and all of us are very positive. I think the vibe and aura is great. We work as a family and we work as a team.

“It’s a lot of work and a lot of it