By Glen Williams

Copyright walesonline

Cardiff City’s summer transfer window seemed to go pretty smoothly – eventually. While Bluebirds fans were fretting over the lack of signings right up until the end of August, when Cardiff brought in Gabriel Osho and Omari Kellyman in the final throes of the window, the club made great headway in shipping out a vast number of players who were deemed surplus to requirements. The thinking was that Brian Barry-Murphy wanted a small, extremely competitive squad, packed with young players from the club’s well-funded academy to populate the first team. By and large, that has been mission accomplished, with a flurry of youngsters bursting through and even turning out to be some of the team’s best and most consistent performers. Older heads are thin on the ground, now, meaning their experience is invaluable. One of those leaders from last season, however, is nowhere to be seen. Sign up to our WhatsApp channel here . Jak Alnwick captained the club on a number of occasions last year in the absence of injury-prone duo Joe Ralls and Aaron Ramsey and the goalkeeper triggered a one-year extension on his contract until the summer of 2026. It became pretty clear at the start of the summer that Ethan Horvath was going to be moved on and he has signed a short-term loan with Sheffield Wednesday until the new year. Alnwick remains at the club, but simply cannot get a look-in. Nathan Trott has been signed from FC Copenhagen on a loan with a view to a permanent deal, while Barry-Murphy has handed academy graduate Matt Turner chances in the cup matches and in the opening league win over Peterborough United. But this week in the Vertu Trophy, with Trott rested, Barry-Murphy opted for uncapped teenager Dan Higgs, who has never played a senior game. Asked on Thursday whether Alnwick was fit, Barry-Murphy replied: “Yeah he is fit. Jak is fit.” When asked if there was any reason in particular that the 32-year-old wasn’t being selected, the Bluebirds head coach simply replied: “No.” Quite how Higgs leapfrogged Alnwick in the pecking order, only Barry-Murphy will know. But from the youngster’s point of view, seeing Turner get his chance has only spurred him on to make that first-team jump, too. “We definitely feel that buzz in the academy,” Higgs said last month. Sign up to our daily newsletter here . “It inspires us seeing so many boys from the academy play in the first team. The fact that they are doing so well is creating a positive feeling around the U21s and the rest of the academy, and that goes through the staff too. “Everyone has now gone up a level because we know the first team is in touching distance. There’s still a long way to go, but to see boys you know and have grown up with play in the first team is so encouraging. It’s made training a lot more intense, because everyone sees what’s possible and everyone wants it. “The main thing I took from Matt’s debut was how important training is. The manager said after that game that the way Matt applied himself in training, he caught his eye and that’s a big learning point to take for myself and all the other goalkeepers. “Matt’s attitude is incredible. As a human and as a player, he is so professional, and that earned him the spot for the first game.” — *Follow all of our social channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Bluebirds news. Sign up to our daily newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here . You can also follow us on social media on our X account and Facebook . Our Cardiff City correspondent Glen Williams is also on social media. He can be found on his X account here , on Instagram , on TikTok and on Facebook .