The Bluebirds are sitting pretty in League One and also enjoyed an impressive run to the quarter-finals of the League Cup.
So will the club’s resurgence continue in 2026? DragonSports’ Ian Mitchelmore takes a closer look.
New Year's resolution
To be playing Championship football in 2026-27.
The Bluebirds have excelled under Brian Barry-Murphy and topped the League One pile at Christmas, such have been their efforts so far.
Games will continue to come thick and fast over the coming months which will ensure Cardiff's relatively small squad will certainly to be put to the test.
READ MORE: Brian Barry-Murphy Urges Cardiff City Players to Learn From Muscular Imps
Anything other than promotion, though, would represent a real failure from this point, which typifies just how impressively Cardiff have performed since being relegated from the second tier.
That said, Barry-Murphy is also building with an eye on the future too, not just in terms of the team's style of play, but also by building assets who can either deliver success in the Welsh capital or be sold to raise funds that can be deployed to bolster the club's chances of returning to the upper echelons of the English football pyramid, or potentially both, in some cases.
January sales priority
Keeping hold of the prized assets.
Clubs may well come circling around the likes of Wales defender Dylan Lawlor or top scorer Yousef Salech in January, men who are pivotal to the club's quest to secure an immediate return to the Championship.
Finding the right balance between deciding when to turn down or accept big money offers for such young talents is a skill that could go a long way to determining whether or not Cardiff really can make it back to the Premier League in the coming years.
Dakarai Mafico, Tanatswa Nyakuhwa and Luey Giles could leave the club on loan, but when it comes to incomings, Barry-Murphy has stated he will only recruit if players can come in and improve the squad.
So, as was the case in the summer, it does not appear that the Bluebirds will be heavily active in January, although with the club well placed to secure automatic promotion, that is not a cause for concern.
READ MORE: Bluebirds and Vultures . . . January Could be Different, and Difficult, for Cardiff City
The star so far
It's incredibly difficult to make just one selection given how well several members of the squad have performed so far.
But amidst the noise around the club's impressive youth talents, Nathan Trott has somewhat quietly gone about his business and established himself as arguably the best goalkeeper in the division.
Only Northampton Town's Lee Burge has a better clean sheets per game ratio than Cardiff's shot-stopper in League One this term, while no goalkeeper in the division has kept more than Trott's tally of eight shutouts.
The 27-year-old has rightly earned plaudits for his ability in possession and for his distribution and composure on the ball.
First and foremost, though,Trott has excelled when it comes to keeping the ball out of the Cardiff net.
Put simply, he has done more than enough already to warrant having his loan move from Copenhagen turned permanent, should the club be able to do so.
New Year fireworks
Rewind the clock a year and there would have been a raft of contenders for this category.
This season though, Cardiff have impressed to a level that means praise is the requirement rather than criticism.
David Turnbull - who got his goal account for the season up and running against Chelsea - has started just eight league games this season but possesses the talent to do damage in the third tier.
Youngster Omari Kellyman - scorer in the home league wins against Reading and Doncaster Rovers - is another who will be hoping to improve his output over the coming months.
But the reality is that Cardiff, at long last, have a squad that is delivering and working in unison towards a common goal.
One to watch in 2026
The likes of Rubin Colwill, Joel Colwill, Joel Bagan, Dylan Lawlor and Ronan Kpakio have taken the headlines due to their impressive roles in Cardiff's revival under Barry-Murphy.
But Ollie Tanner could yet be an important player for Cardiff in the second half of the season having been sidelined for four months with an ankle injury.
He was named in the matchday squad for the 2-1 loss at Lincoln City and will likely be eased back into proceedings over the coming weeks following such a lengthy lay-off.
The winger has just four goals and five assists to his name across his 78 appearances in all competitions for Cardiff, although the second half of 2026 could be his best chance to significantly improve that return.
The 23-year-old is clearly highly regarded by the Cardiff hierarchy, having been handed a new contract in August, and Tanner will look to play his part in the New Year.
He is primed - having been cruelly robbed of the chance to do so for the majority of the opening half of the campaign.
