Cardiff City must take Callum Robinson action ASAP regardless of Vincent Tan call | OneFootball

Callum Robinson has been in excellent form for Cardiff City as of late, but his contract is set to expire at the end of the season

Cardiff City may find themselves in the midst of managerial uncertainty, but convincing Callum Robinson to extend his stay in the Welsh capital simply must be undertaken sooner rather than later.

The Bluebirds have been rocked by a recent upturn in fortunes following the interim appointment of Omer Riza, who has lifted them out of the relegation zone by winning three of his opening games in charge, including the last two consecutively.

Three straight home wins over Millwall, Plymouth Argyle and most recently Portsmouth has placed credit in the bank for Riza and he has made little secret of his ambition to become Cardiff's next permanent manager, a vacancy which is yet to be filled more than a month on from Erol Bulut's dismissal.

According to reports, Cardiff are believed to be content with keeping Riza in situ for the time being, having been left "underwhelmed" by the general standard of available candidates to take the reins.

Vincent Tan has a crucial decision to make in the near future, but, regardless of the direction he looks in when it comes to making the 12th permanent appointment in 14 years of owning the club, the top-brass must surely strive to get leading goalscorer Robinson to agree on a new contract.

Callum Robinson's 24/25 form at Cardiff City

Although Cardiff's season has been largely marked by frustration and disappointment thus far, Robinson's is synonymous with redemption on a personal level.

Injuries, illness and ill-discipline all proved disruptive to a miserable 2023/24 campaign for the Republic of Ireland international, who was only able to muster one league goal from 23 appearances.

This season was always going to be make-or-break, then, but Robinson has revived his Bluebirds career tenfold. Despite starting on just six occasions, Robinson has notched four goals in the Championship, a return currently bettered by only four players throughout the league and one which sees him comfortably top of his side's scoring charts.

He has been one of the central beneficiaries of Cardiff's resurgent form and, many will argue, the sacking of Bulut in tandem, and the 29-year-old is playing with a new lease of life under Riza. Bulut, who Robinson notably had his differences with, was reluctant to allow the versatile frontman to lead the line, often preferring Wilfried Kanga - and what a judgement call that is looking like now.

Robinson has scored in each of Cardiff's last two games and has started every match in the Riza era, while Hertha Berlin loanee Kanga is yet to make the cut for one starting line-up under the interim boss.

Cardiff City must renew Callum Robinson's contract ASAP

At the moment, Cardiff will have a plethora of players out of contract come this summer, including the likes of Callum O'Dowda, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Ralls and Anwar El Ghazi, and renewing Robertson's deal has to be near the top of the list.

The former Preston North End and Sheffield United attacker put pen to paper on a three-year deal upon joining Cardiff in a £1.5 million deadline day deal from West Bromwich Albion, and he has now, of course, entered the third and final season of those terms.

Robinson is openly passionate about playing for the club, which he almost invariably exhibits on-the-pitch, and he has a real affinity with supporters too - you would imagine that he will have an interest in staying put, and Cardiff surely want that to happen just as much.

They simply cannot afford to lose him at all, but especially not for nothing. With the exception of last time out, Robinson has been a real hit at the Cardiff City Stadium and orchestrated an instrumental role in their survival during his first term before picking up a season-ending injury in February of that year.

He has more combined goals and assists at Championship level than anybody else in the Cardiff squad and is the only out-and-out striker in the ranks with a solid goalscoring record in the division, too, so the thought of losing him alone will doubtless send shivers down the spines of supporters.

We are by no means at the stage where Cardiff are at serious risk of losing him, far from it. Time is on their side and they must take advantage of that, and agreeing a new contract would offer breathing room and security at the very least.

While arranging a fresh deal as the unclear managerial situation toils on will not be easy, as they may want to wait for judgement from whoever comes in if Riza is not kept on, you would certainly like to think that Robinson will have a big role regardless.

With that in mind, it would make sense to get a new contract on the table as quickly as possible, which would be yet another boost for the club and supporters alike.