Ex-Leeds United and Middlesbrough man linked with Cardiff job - training with Bristol City

Sol Bamba has been linked with the recent Championship managerial vacancy at his former club Cardiff City.

The 37-year-old is currently training with Bristol City, but a deal of any kind looks unlikely at this stage, despite there being spaces to register players in their submitted Championship squad.

Bamba has been a free agent since leaving Middlesbrough in the summer and was offered the chance to train at the High Performance Centre by manager Nigel Pearson.

He made an appearance for Alex Ball’s unbeaten Under-21 side featuring in a goalless draw against league rivals Birmingham City but has not featured since, though he does remain in Failand.

Pearson worked with Bamba at Leicester City and has made a similar gesture to him before, letting him train at Derby County, before joining Cardiff.

The Ivory Coast international however could now see himself leave Bristol after almost a month, to potentially take up the managerial reigns at their Severnside rivals in what would be his first non-playing role.

A report from The Athletic says that Bamba is ‘keen’ on the job, but for the time being, former Crystal Palace and Huddersfield Town defender Mark Hudson will be afforded time.

Steve Morison was sacked by Cardiff on Sunday morning, despite the club not occupying a relegation spot, with the reason behind the sacking said to be results based.

Hudson, a former captain of Cardiff was his first-team coach and has since stepped up to take interim charge as they seek a successor, taking on a similar role that he had in the Premier League with the Terriers.

There is no ‘immediate’ appointment lined up and will leave Hudson in charge to oversee first-team duties and he could even oversee their next league match against Burnley.

Bamba has earned his coaching qualifications with the Football Association of Wales, and has ‘some support within a number of departments at the club’ which could make him a surprise contender for the role.

He had a brief role with their Under-21s and was ‘said to have impressed’ people with his methodology, style and connection with the players.

As a player, Bamba spent five years in South Wales, helping them to promotion in 2018, before playing in the Premier League. He ended up making 118 appearances in total for Cardiff, scoring 10 goals including a strike against Bristol City on his debut.