Cian Ashford and Michael Reindorf could save Cardiff City millions in transfer fees | OneFootball

Football League World looks at two Cardiff players who could potentially save the club millions in years to come

The last few years have been anything but plain-sailing for Cardiff City, but the Championship strugglers have invested significantly in their youth structure as Vincent Tan bids to see the long-term success of cultivating homegrown talent.

Notably, Cardiff opened a new academy training base in Llanrumney little over a year ago as the defining hallmark of the club's increased focus on youth development, with a number of promising academy products having made the transition to the first-team fold.

At this moment in time, gifted playmaker Rubin Colwill is quite arguably the pick of the bunch, though much is expected of his younger brother Joel, who has recently joined Exeter City on loan after scoring nine goals from midfield for Cheltenham Town during the first half of the season.

A litany of academy graduates have been named in recent matchday squads too, indicating the depth of talent continuing to emerge in the Welsh capital.

Cardiff, who have seen a number of exciting prospects prised away by Premier League clubs in recent years such as Timeo Whisker, Lewys Benjamin and, most notably, Manchester United hotshot Gabriele Biancheri, will be eager to keep pushing forward and continue promoting from within, and the end goal will naturally be to save money by doing so while netting significant sums.

Who are the next two academy graduates capable of saving Cardiff some serious money in the future? Football League World has taken a look...

Cian Ashford

There has been palpable excitement surrounding Cian Ashford at Cardiff for quite some time, and the young forward is finally beginning to vindicate that undoubted potential of his after spending the first-half of the season very much on the periphery.

Ashford, who hails from the Rhondda Valley and rose through the ranks with great promise at City, immediately announced himself by scoring a dramatic 95th-minute winner in Cardiff's 2-1 victory over Russell Martin's Southampton on his first start for the club last season.

The winger must have only been frustrated to have been used sparingly for much of the current campaign, with opportunities having arrived at a real premium before December. Indeed, until then, he had played just 46 minutes of Championship football across four matches, which admittedly appears rather bizarre now.

That's because Ashford has enjoyed some stunning form as of late. The 20-year-old opened his account for the season in Cardiff's 3-2 Boxing Day defeat at Oxford United before grabbing assists in impressive consecutive displays against Watford and Coventry across the turn of the year.

He then scored the only goal of the game in the FA Cup third-round victory at Sheffield United, pressing high to rob possession from Welsh international Rhys Norrington-Davies before cooly slotting past fellow countryman Adam Davies.

Ashford was on song once again to find the back of the net with a sweet finish against Watford the next match, and at this stage, one would like to imagine he has locked down the right-sided wing spot on Omer Riza's side now. It's been a second first-team breakthrough of sorts for the winger, but he's now on track to not only become a first-team regular but a real star in the making, too.

Ashford is a difference-maker for Cardiff at the minute and, should all go to plan, a glittering career surely awaits the exciting prospect, who the Bluebirds could save millions on as he may just be their starting wide-right option for years to come - if they can retain him for that long.

Michael Reindorf

Another attacking talent of much promise is Michael Reindorf, who only joined Cardiff in the summer from Norwich City's academy but has earned rave reviews at under-21 level.

The striker has been prolific for Darren Purse's young guns and notably impressed in EFL Cup cameos against Bristol Rovers in particular and Southampton, though he admittedly struggled in his second Championship appearance - a 2-0 home defeat to Preston North End - last month.

Nonetheless, Reindorf remains an exciting talent. The 19-year-old likes to lead the press and offers energy both in and out of possession, and also has quick feet and a real sense of flair and confidence to his game. That's precisely why there was considerable clamour for him to be playing regularly at Championship level, calls which have since cooled.

Reindorf is currently out injured and has loan interest from League One and League Two clubs by Riza's own admission, with FLW exclusively reporting that two of those clubs are Bristol Rovers and neighboring Newport County.

A loan exit is likely to be the best immediate course of action for the young striker's development as he's not quite there at second-tier level just yet.

However, he has shown no shortage of promise and Cardiff will be hoping he can help to address their long-standing goalscoring issues further down the line, thus saving money on yet another striker signing.