"If we can even keep him" - Cardiff City: Omer Riza's best player named | OneFootball

Colwill has been dubbed as his club's best player by our Bluebirds fan pundit

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Welsh international midfielder Rubin Colwill has been named as Cardiff City's best player right now by our Bluebirds fan pundit for his impressive performances over the last few seasons.

Cardiff have been able to climb off the bottom of the table in recent weeks under interim boss Omer Riza, and 22-year-old Colwill has been imperative to their upturn in form as he begins to realise the potential that saw him make his Bluebirds debut as an 18-year-old in 2021.

The attacking midfielder has been on Cardiff's books since the age of 10 and is currently as influential as he has ever been for his boyhood club's senior team since his first breakthrough nearly four years ago.

Colwill has always been the nearly man in seasons gone by at the Cardiff City Stadium, with clear talent and potential but not much to show for it on the pitch, yet this term has seen his output reach the levels required for many Bluebirds fans to finally believe in his ability.

Rubin Colwill "ingenious" claim made by Cardiff fan pundit

Colwill is in front of all of his teammates in terms of goal involvements in all competitions this season, and his performance against Plymouth Argyle on October 19 was particularly impressive, as he bagged the second goal and laid on assists for the first and third strikes in a 5-0 thrashing of the Pilgrims.

The 22-year-old has three goals and three assists each in 19 appearances to date this term, and has started in all of Cardiff's last 13 outings as they secured key wins over Plymouth, Millwall, Portsmouth and Norwich City, as well as earning a nomination for the Championship Player of the Month award in October.

A nine-cap Welsh international, his form and potential shown over previous seasons has seen him attract interest from the likes of Arsenal and Ipswich Town, but he has stayed put at the Cardiff City Stadium to continue his development at a steady rate in the second-tier.

When asked who the club’s best player at the moment is, and what one word they’d use to describe him, FLW’s Cardiff fan pundit, Jack Price, named Colwill, as he believes that the way the 22-year-old imposes himself on the pitch is ingenious.

He said: “In my opinion, Cardiff’s single best player right now is Rubin Colwill, and the word I would use to describe him is ‘ingenious’.

“His natural ability is, for me, off the scale. The sky is the limit for that boy.

“He is just so, so naturally talented, and that shines through invariably, even if he is not necessarily playing at the top of his game.

“It’s his deftness of touch, close control in tight spaces, the way he can manoeuvre the ball past two or three players when he realistically should have no chance of getting out.

“The way he can break the lines with his passing, and progressively carry the ball up the pitch just evading tackles with real nonchalance about him as well.

“The very best players can make the game look effortless, and that’s exactly what he does.

“There’s a lot of times where he looks in second gear. He’s not sprinting up and down running back 40 yards to get the ball, and when he has the ball, he is not necessarily burning past players either.

“It’s the sheer guile and elegance that he has. He’s so gifted.

“I’d say our best and most talented player, and he is going to be a massive part of any success that we do achieve this season if we can even keep him until the end of the season.

“It’s good with Colwill, because I think his natural talent has not been in doubt among Cardiff supporters for years now, but I guess the wider world is beginning to see it now.

“Maybe that’s a bit of a problem for us when it comes to trying to retain him, but it’s good that he is getting the plaudits he deserves.”

Colwill has earned high-profile admirers as a result of his impressive ability

The Bluebirds will ultimately be very pleased that Colwill is still a feature in the Welsh capital after his standout form so far this season, following rumours surrounding his potential exit to a higher-placed club throughout the summer just gone.

The Neath-born number ten was admired by Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna ahead of the Tractor Boys' return to the top flight, according to journalist Darren Witcoop, but he also added that the 22-year-old was unlikely to be on the move in the summer window.

It is evident by his impressive performances over the last few years for club and country that he has the potential to go on and join a team like Ipswich, or even a top-six club like Arsenal, who he was previously linked to by journalist Paul Abbandonato, but it looks as if he has taken the right decision to stay at his boyhood club for now, with much more consistency shown under interim manager Riza in recent months.

Wales boss Craig Bellamy recently offered his verdict on Colwill's career progress so far and admitted that he still has "a long way to go" to fulfill his lofty potential in the years to come.

For now though, the 22-year-old simply needs to keep his head down and keep enjoying his football, and there is little doubt that more goals, assists and top performances will come with time, as Cardiff seek to move away from the bottom three and consolidate themselves again in the second-tier.