CARDIFF, WALES - AUGUST 26: Erol Bulut, Manager of Cardiff City reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday at Cardiff City Stadium on August 26, 2023 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. (Photo by Cardiff City FC/Getty Images)
Jonathan Panzo: Cardiff target Nottingham Forest defender
Cardiff City have targeted ex-England Under-21s defender Jonathan Panzo before Friday night’s 23:00 BST transfer window deadline.
But they have competition for the 22-year-old Nottingham Forest player with Welsh rivals Swansea City also believed to be interested.
Cardiff can only do a loan deal for Panzo because of a Football League transfer embargo.
But Swansea can pay a fee for any recruits.
The Bluebirds are working hard to secure the Chelsea product, who had a loan spell with Championship play off finalists Coventry City in 2022-23, featuring in 29 league games.
The left-sided centre back left Chelsea for Monaco in a £1.5m deal in 2018, but played just twice for the French club before going to Dijon following a loan spell with Cercle Bruges.
He joined Forest for an undisclosed fee in January 2022 and played once for Steve Cooper’s side.
Former Swans boss Cooper has signed Murillo from from Brazilian club Corinthians and says a deal to sign another defender, Nuno Tavares, is “at the final stage”.
Cooper also says there is “no official news” on reports linking forward Brennan Johnson with a move away.
Cardiff manager Erol Bulut expects to sign a centre-back before the window shuts and the departure of Jack Simpson, who has left by mutual consent, makes the need more urgent.
His exit also frees up money for a new face as Cardiff look to balance their books.
Swansea are also in the market for a left-sided defender and manager Michael Duff has confirmed they are interested in Kristian Pedersen, from FC Koln.
