Ricky-Jade Jones signs: The dream Cardiff City summer 2025 transfer window | OneFootball

FLW explores what a dream summer 2025 transfer window could potentially look like for Cardiff City - should they remain in the Championship

Planning for the 2025/26 campaign may represent a difficult task at this moment in time for Cardiff City, whose divisional status come August remains very much a mystery.

For the third season in just four years, the Bluebirds find themselves locked into a battle against relegation to League One.

It's swiftly shaping up to be one of the Championship's most intense relegation battles in recent years and is poised to go right down to the wire, with Cardiff battling the likes of Derby County, Stoke City, Oxford United and Luton Town to retain their second-tier status.

However, the Bluebirds will still fancy their chances of staying up under Omer Riza in what remains of the current campaign. Riza himself faces an uncertain future, with many Bluebirds supporters likely not to lose any sleep if Vincent Tan opts against keeping the 46-year-old beyond his current contract - which is set to expire at the end of the season.

Nonetheless, Football League World has decided to look at what some of the makings of a dream 2025 summer transfer window for Cardiff could potentially resemble...

Kwame Poku signs

It would take an almighty display of ambition for Cardiff to land the services of Kwame Poku, who has surfaced among the most exciting, in-demand talents the EFL has to offer over the last twelve months.

The Peterborough United winger has endured a stop-start season due to injury, but is classes above League One when fully fit and has shown exactly that in the last couple of years.

Despite missing more than three months of action, Poku has recorded double digits for league goals off the back of an impressive 2023/24 haul of 11 strikes and seven assists.

Direct and tricky with pace to burn and an impressive goal threat, the 23-year-old would tick all the boxes in terms of what Cardiff need, and have lacked, in wide areas.

Of course, supporters have often lamented the shortage of explosive speed, creativity and goals from out wide, but Poku would bring all of those qualities in abundance and, at his age, appears very much a top-flight player in the making.

His contract at Peterborough is up at the end of the season and he is widely expected to move on. Speculation regarding Poku's next destination has not been in short supply, it must be said, as the winger has been linked to the likes of Southampton, Ipswich Town, Burnley and Rangers in recent months.

Whether he would gain immediate, sufficient game-time with any of those outfits, however, is perhaps up for debate. A host of Championship clubs will surely be in the race for his signature and Cardiff, should they remain one themselves, must be looking to throw their name in the hat.

Ricky-Jade Jones signs

A raid of the Weston Homes Stadium could certainly enhance Cardiff's wide options ahead of the 2025/26 season, and Ricky-Jade Jones would be an extremely shrewd capture.

As first revealed exclusively by FLW, the pacey forward was of interest to Cardiff in January, which was later confirmed by Riza, but such a move failed to materialise and he ended up staying with Peterborough. But, like Poku, Jones is also out of contract this summer and is expected to move on, too.

Similarly, the 22-year-old's age means he would also command a compensation fee upon leaving Peterborough.

Widely regarded among the fastest players in world football, Jones' electric speed is accompanied by an increasingly-refined end product which has seen him score 28 goals and counting across all competitions since the start of the previous campaign.

Eight goals in League One action this time out may not be the most convincing record, but at 22, Jones has plenty of time to progress further and is ready to try his hand in the Championship.

His profile is sorely absent in Riza's side at the minute, with Cardiff very much lacking wingers capable of stretching the pitch, leading transitions with explosive bursts of pace and driving forward at opponents.

Jones is also set to be a hot property, though, and was linked to two Championship rivals in Norwich City and Middlesbrough during the most recent window.

That could make any deal difficult, but given Cardiff's well-documented interest, it would be no surprise to see the Bluebirds take a second stab at trying to take Jones to the Welsh capital.

Matt Clarke signs

This one, meanwhile, could be entirely dependent on whether relegation rivals Derby stay in the Championship this season, and if that would potentially be at City's expense.

Derby returned Matthew Clarke to Pride Park back in January from Middlesbrough on a short-term deal until the end of the season. The former Rams loanee was in and out of Michael Carrick's side in the first-half of the season but has hit the ground running back in the East Midlands, shoring up Derby's defence following the sale of Eiran Cashin to Brighton and Hove Albion.

Should Derby survive under John Eustace, one could quite easily imagine Clarke signing a longer-term deal with the club. However, the 28-year-old would surely be unwilling to play League One football and that could open the door for Cardiff, should they stave off relegation.

Defensive frailties have been the sticking point of Cardiff's season; they are far, far too open defensively and lack a commanding presence to organise the backline.

Dimitros Goutas could leave upon the expiry of his own deal this summer, while Jesper Daland has struggled to impress in his debut campaign, and a general shortage of personnel means the likes of Joel Bagan and the inexperienced Will Fish have been forced to deputise as of late.

But Clarke would offer the experience and the sort of presence that City need at the heart of their defence. It's hard to envisage any potential move unless they stay up at Derby's expense, though such a scenario could make it a viable, realistic and wholly-desirable deal to complete.

Chris Willock leaves

Along with adding recruits through the door, Cardiff must also clear house and will likely be looking to do so by moving on a number of underperforming players who are out of contract in a matter of months.

You wouldn't put your money on the likes of Jamilu Collins, Anwar El Ghazi and Yakou Meite staying on beyond this season. Willock, however, is under contract until 2027 - but Cardiff may still look to find a new home for the divisive wide-man this summer.

Willock's free transfer arrival at the Cardiff City Stadium last summer was hotly-anticipated. While his final season with QPR was blighted by inconsistency, he had previously been a star performer in West London and was one of the division's leading attackers in an especially-productive 2021/22 campaign.

Capable of playing out wide or in attacking midfield, the precociously-talented Willock was tipped to bring a sense of X-Factor into this Cardiff side. Evidently, Willock is blessed with a boatload of natural quality - that much is not in doubt.

At his best, Willock can light up matches on his own and prove the difference. But his days simply have not come around frequently enough this season, and looking longer-term with what Cardiff need in the winger department, it's not easy to see where exactly Willock figures.

The 27-year-old is technically superb but lacks the natural, raw pace and dynamism to be a consistent threat in a side that does not dominate the ball.

Both Poku and Jones would be much more ideal options in that sense and while Cardiff could hardly be slammed for wanting to keep a player of Willock's undoubted ability in the hope of truly unlocking that, the ex-Arsenal prospect could also be moved on elsewhere dependent on who is at the helm.

He hasn't been a big part of Riza's plans, that's for sure.