Cardiff City manager Brian Barry-Murphy is targeting attacking reinforcements after Roko Simic's departure, confirming a new striker remains on the club's agenda. Simic has joined German side FC Magdeburg on loan for the 2026/27 season, with the 2. Bundesliga club finishing 14th last term.
The forward's exit comes with Cardiff continuing to assess their options in the transfer market. Barry-Murphy was asked directly whether Yousef Salech and Callum Robinson were enough to lead the line with Simic now gone.
Isaak Davies seen as striker option
The Cardiff boss also pointed to Isaak Davies as another option up front, despite the Wales international having predominantly operated from a wider position. "And Isaak, really. So we see Isaak very much as a striker," Barry-Murphy said. "But like I said previously, that's an area of the pitch, like all the others, that we're looking to improve."
Barry-Murphy has previously spoken of his belief that Davies can develop into a high-level striker, although the 24-year-old has spent much of his Cardiff career playing on the wing. Asked whether he now sees Davies more as a striker, Barry-Murphy was unequivocal. "Yeah, and so does he. He's told me!" he said. "But I haven't played him a lot there just because Yousef and Omari [Kellyman] played ahead of him as well, and there was a spell after the Rotherham game when he was injured badly. It was probably the window where he was going to play as a striker. At that moment, unfortunately, he wasn't fit. But we still think he's potentially a very high-level striker. But I just haven't played him there enough yet to show it."
Davies' pace would also give Cardiff a different profile of forward, with Barry-Murphy acknowledging the youngster could provide another option from the bench or in certain matches. "Absolutely," he said when asked whether Davies could offer something different as a striker. "He's had to learn his wing craft as well. I think he played all his junior football as a striker as well. So he's certainly entrusted with senior football as a winger. He's had to learn very quickly."
Recruitment plans remain calm
Simic had been training with Cardiff, but Barry-Murphy said the decision for him to leave on loan was ultimately about finding the right environment for the forward. "He was training with us and doing really well, but he was obviously looking for the club that was the right fit for him, so I'm very pleased that he's gone and done that," Barry-Murphy said.
When asked whether Simic's departure freed up a squad place for another signing, however, Barry-Murphy stressed it had not changed Cardiff's recruitment plans. "No, it makes no difference," he said. "The plan is in place based on the fact that Roko will be going on loan."
The manager was also asked about Cardiff's wider recruitment plans, with the Bluebirds still looking to strengthen the squad before the transfer window closes. Barry-Murphy said the club's approach remained calm and measured despite the squad's current injury problems. "I just want to get the players fit and healthy as soon as we can, and obviously continue with our strategy in a calm and precise manner to improve the squad," he said.
Asked whether anything was close and whether Cardiff could soon be in a position to announce more additions, he said: "No, I don't think that's the case."
Honesty key in loan dealings
Barry-Murphy was keen to praise the work being carried out behind the scenes by head of recruitment Paddy Deboys and his team. "Paddy and his team have been working really hard for the past couple of months," he said. "I'm appreciative of how calm they've remained and sticking to the plan that we had in place. Obviously, when things come around that we want, then it's important that we try and get it done. But the timescales are impossible to predict."
Barry-Murphy also made clear that Cardiff are not simply looking to add bodies for the sake of it, particularly when it comes to loan deals with fans calling for another centre-back signing in light of all the injury news. "I think we have to be specific and genuine and have real integrity and honesty with players we're looking to bring in," he said. "If you bring in a loan player for the sake of it to have an extra number... and then in six weeks' time when Will Fish is back, or however long, and all our players are back and he's just cast aside and we don't use him ever again, really you can be sure that the parent club who sent him in won't send you another player ever again. I think that's important, but it's really about honesty from the beginning."
