Albert Adomah has claimed he should have stayed at Nottingham Forest rather than get dragged into a dispute between his parent club and Cardiff City. The winger has returned to Forest after Cardiff failed to extend his loan spell, despite appealing to the EFL. Bluebirds manager Neil Harris branded the decision a disgrace, but Adomah has insisted he never wanted to leave Forest in the first place and the row could have been avoided.

Former Cardiff City youth team striker Eli Phipps has signed for Southern League Merthyr Town. The arrival of Welshman Phipps is a major boost for Martyrs manager Gavin Williams following a series of player departures. Phipps, aged 22, has also played for League Two Colchester United and Southern League Western-super-Mare.

Joe Ralls went into Cardff City’s match at Preston North End with his eyes wide open – and insists that’s the way they stayed. Ralls scored City’s opening goal in a 3-1 win at Deepdale from a rare header and said: “There’s photo proof that I kept my eyes open!” He nipped in ahead of captain Sean Morrison to score the first goal at the far post from a Dion Sanderson cross.

Will Vaulks believes Neil Warnock can pull off another great escape at Middlesbrough to set up a nervy penultimate fixture for play-off chasing Cardiff City. The Wales midfielder was mysteriously under-employed by Warnock after the former Bluebirds boss brought Vaulks to the club exactly one year ago. Vaulks had thrived under Warnock at Rotherham when they pulled off their own unlikely scramble away from a threatened relegation to League One three years ago.

The self-confessed “quick, brainless winger” has returned to football management with Neil Warnock about to take charge of his 16th League club. Middlesbrough is the latest stop-off in Warnock’s 35-year odyssey as the man who left Cardiff City last November prepares to take over from the sacked head coach Jonathan Woodgate. In a perfect football script, Boro and Warnock are now due to host promotion-chasing Cardiff on the penultimate weekend of the season on July 18.

Neil Harris paid tribute to his Cardiff City players after they delivered what he called a fitting tribute to the late Peter Whittingham. The Bluebirds manager made a poignant reference to Whittingham after seeing his team move to the brink of the play-off places with an uplifting 2-0 victory over Leeds United on Sunday. The win – in Cardiff’s first game back after lockdown – was preceded by a minute’s applause that honoured club legend Whittingham, who died from a brain injury in March.

Sean Morrison aims to help Cardiff City force a submission from Leeds United today – just as the Hulk Hogan fan did at Elland Road back in December. It may not be the wrestling ring – and there will certainly be no live audience – but there will still be a strong sense of theatre when the two clubs go head-to-head in a noon showdown. Back before lockdown, the Championship rivals met six months ago when Morrison inspired a Cardiff comeback from 3-0 down to snatch a 3-3 draw and got sent off – all the while sporting a dyed blond moustache and with a Hulk Hogan costume on his dressing room peg.

Neil Harris believes his Cardiff City side can derail Championship leaders Leeds United’s promotion hopes when the two sides clash in the Welsh capital on Sunday. After seeing his side draw two matches against arch-rivals Swansea City, 0-0 and 1-1, in a final, friendly warm-up for the Championship re-start, Harris is looking for a big opening to the nine match run-in to the play-offs. Leeds may be a point clear at the top of the table, but the Bluebirds are only two points off the play-off places and fancy their chances of reaching the top six.

Former Cardiff City youth goalkeeper Kelly Absalom has joined Southern League Merthyr Town for the 2020-21 season. Manager Gavin Williams has signed the international age-group keeper for the Martyrs to replace Alex Harris, who has moved on. “I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Kelland to the club,” said Williams.

Cardiff City expect to launch both Lee Tomlin and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing at Championship leaders Leeds United on Sunday. Bluebirds boss Neil Harris has confirmed that long-term injury victims Tomlin and Mendez-Laing both came through the friendly with Swansea City at the weekend and will be fit for selection on Sunday. Defender Jazz Richards, however, is set to miss out when the season resumed for the first time since March, due to a calf injury picked up in training.

Neil Harris has warned that it could take four or five matches for teams to get back to their normal match intensity when the season resumes next week. The Cardiff City manager has prepared his team for their first game after the shutdown with two training match sessions against Swansea City at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday. The Championship rivals played out two 80-minute games behind closed doors that ended 0-0 and 1-1, but Harris believes it will take a handful of games after their clash at home to leaders Leeds United next Sunday for his side to hit their normal levels.

Cardiff City and Swansea City should both limit their spending on wages to 70 per cent of their revenue if they want to survive, say financial services firm Deloitte. A salary cap at will be crucial to the viability of Championship clubs affected by the coronavirus pandemic, claim the football finance specialists. Both Cardiff and Swansea are preparing for the resumption of matches next weekend after three months without any match day revenue.