Ex-West Ham boss and Chelsea icon tipped for Cardiff vacancy as Arsenal eye Hungary wonderkid

Championship strugglers Cardiff City are on the lookout for a new manager to turn the club’s fortunes after sacking Erol Bulut last month.

The Bluebirds are currently bottom of the table with just five points from nine matches, but have shown slight signs of improvement under interim boss Omer Riza.

The Welsh side are keen to bring in a manager over the international break and as it stands the favourite for the post is former West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic.

The Croatian joined West Ham in 2015 and led the Hammers to an impressive seventh place finish in his first season with Dimitri Payet running the strings in midfield. That term the team broke several record including highest number of points with 62, the highest number of goals in a season with 65, a positive goal difference for the first time in the Premier League with +14, the fewest games lost in a season with eight and the fewest away defeats with five.

The second season was much more challenging as the club dropped to 11th place and after a poor start to his second full season, he was replaced by David Moyes with the team deep in relegation struggle.

Bilic led West Brom to promotion from the Championship in 2020 but was dismissed in November that same year after promotion. He also had an unsuccessful 21-game stint with Watford the following season.

The 56-year-old has been out of work since leaving Al Fateh in July.

However, he is not the only big name in the running for the vacancy in the Welsh capital as former Chelsea hero and trailblazing defensive midfielder Claude Makelele is also thought to be in advanced talks, according to FootMercato.

The ex-Real Madrid star is regarded as arguably the best defensive midfielder of his generation but is yet to have a real taste of success in short managerial stints at Bastia, K.A.S. Eupen and Asteras Tripolis F.C in France, Belgium and Greece respectively.

Arsenal eye Hungary wonderkid

Arsenal are believed to be keen to bolster their left back options and have reportedly earmarked 20-year-old Bournemouth wonderkid Milos Kerkez as a top target in January.

CaughtOffside understands that the ex-AZ Alkmaar man has impressed Mikel Arteta in his 33 appearances since signing for Bournemouth in June 2023.

 Kerkez is renowned for his excellent pace and ability to bomb forward, making him an asset for Hungary, who he has already represented on 21 occasions.

His Cherries team-mate Antoine Semenyo, who has scored three times in his opening seven games is also seen as a target in attack for the Gunners, although Newcastle United are also showing interest.