Cardiff City notebook: January exit planned as plea made for transfer investment

Midfielder Dakarai Mafico set to leave on loan in January after falling down the pecking order; manager Barry-Murphy insists he remains highly regarded.

Cardiff City are preparing for their Championship clash with West Ham, but several developments are emerging from the club. Dakarai Mafico, a 19-year-old academy midfielder once tipped by manager Brian Barry-Murphy to develop into an "elite" No.6, looks set to leave on loan in January after slipping down the pecking order. The talented youngster has spent much of the campaign playing under-21s football, with his first-team opportunities drying up in recent months.

Barry-Murphy revealed that a loan move is now the preferred next step in Mafico's development, with the manager hoping to arrange it early in the January window. "I think it's been a difficult spell for Dax," Barry-Murphy said. "The idea is for him to go on loan as soon as possible really, which hopefully would mean the first weeks of January. Then he can get the experience and improvement that he needs." The arrival of 17-year-old Charlie Holt from Manchester City has added another layer of competition, with Holt already leapfrogging Mafico in the first-team reckoning and making his senior debut in Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Wolves.