Former Bristol City trialist set for management role at rivals Cardiff City

Former Bristol City trialist Sol Bamba is to return to former club Cardiff City and take up a role amongst the coaching staff under their new manager.

Bamba trained at the High Performance Centre for a month, with his former boss at Leicester City, Nigel Pearson happy to host him, to help him maintain his fitness levels after being released by Middlesbrough in the summer. The 38-year-old played in an Under-21's game for the Robins, but then failed to appear after that.

“Sol’s in the building for a couple of weeks to get fit and then we’ll see where it goes,” Pearson said back in mid-August. “I like him, he’s a good man, he’s a very positive character who’s got great game understanding but no promises - he’s here to train and if something else happens then I’ll let you know when it does.

“Sol’s not here under any pretence of coming here for a contract. I’ve done it before with a few players, they’re out of contract at places and you give them the opportunity to get fit in a club training environment. Sometimes it’s nice to help people out.”

He trained from mid-August to mid-September and was even a pundit for Sky Sports towards the end of his first month at City, appearing at Ashton Gate, when Tommy Conway and Rob Atkinson scored in a 2-0 win over the Welsh side. Bamba did not find a club, despite a proposed offer from Swindon Town in the summer, and now his future has been mapped out, with a new opportunity for the former Leeds United man.

A report from WalesOnline say that Cardiff are close to appointing former Nottingham Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi as their new first-team manager. The Bluebirds sacked Mark Hudson - their second manager of the season - earlier this month and have opted to go for Lamouchi, despite Valerien Ismael and Dean Smith being linked.

As part of the agreement, Bamba will work under Lamouchi as his assisant-manager, returning to South Wales, after being released in the summer of 2021. The pair worked together during Bamba's playing career, he featured for the Ivory Coast national team, with Lamouchi in charge between 2012 and 2014.