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Cardiff City midfielder Manolis Siopis is set to join Panathinaikos

Cardiff City midfielder Manolis Siopis is on the verge of sealing a return to Greece with a move to Super League side Panathinaikos.

That's according to a recent report from WalesOnline, where Siopis' impending exit from the Welsh capital has been revealed ahead of Monday's deadline.

Cardiff have made two signings to date in Yousef Salech and Sivert Mannsverk, with another addition or two expected before February 3.

However, the latter's much-anticipated arrival on loan from Dutch giants Ajax has seemingly opened the door for Siopis to leave the club and land a return to his homeland.

Manolis Siopis to leave Cardiff City for Panathinaikos

As per WalesOnline's update, Siopis is closing in on an exit from the Bluebirds. Indeed, it's said the 30-year-old is currently undertaking medical proceedings with the 20-time Super League champions, who have already struck a deal for his signature with Cardiff.

Siopis is set to leave Cardiff on a permanent deal, with Omer Riza having been equally keen to offload players as he bids to bolster the squad at his disposal with fresh additions.

The Greek international midfielder has now surely made his 64th and final appearance for Cardiff, having first signed for the club in the summer of 2023. A favourite of Erol Bulut's, Siopis formerly played under the Turkish boss at Analyaspor and Cardiff made a considerable effort to reunite the pair, with the player himself also effectively buying out his own contract with Trabzonspor at the time in order to do so.

Siopis appeared in all but four of Cardiff's 46 Championship fixtures under Bulut last season, helping the side to a respectable 12th-placed finish.

However, he did fall down the pecking order following Bulut's sacking early into the campaign and was named in Riza's starting eleven on just 12 occassions.

Cardiff City are making the right call to sell Manolis Siopis

The ex-Olympiacos midfielder certainly offered redeeming qualities at Cardiff, with his energy and tenacity in the midfield engine room notable hallmarks of his game.

However, it must be said, Siopis often struggled to leave his mark in games the way many had expected, and his limitations in possession often fell short in a side wanting to keep and transition the ball in a more urgent manner under Riza.

The signing of Mannsverk said something to Siopis' future; while it may come as something of a surprise to see him offloaded this window, the contrasting profile of the highly-rated Norweigan showed just where he was in Riza's plans.

Cardiff are not short of options in midfield, which means selling Siopis appears a sensible decision for all parties.

Calum Chambers has been rejuvenated since being moved into midfield, where he will now likely be partnered by Mannsverk, but with Aaron Ramsey and David Turnbull both set to return from long-term injury setbacks at a later date along with Joel Colwill's return from his loan at Exeter City come the end of the campaign, opportunities were only going to prove even harder to come by.