Cardiff City are facing a crucial period over the summer and the Bluebirds will be needing to make the right sort of additions to their squad to help them challenge for promotion next term.

Mick McCarthy has now had time to assess his squad and he will be able to have seen who he believes can be a key part of the side next term and also what positions they need to strengthen. It will be crucial that they bring in the players that he wants if they are to challenge for the top-six.

The Bluebirds will also be needing to replace some of their key loan players that they had at the club this season. While they must hang onto a goal scorer such as Kieffer Moore. His goals will be crucial to their hopes of challenging more closely for promotion.

While we enter the summer break, on the theme of Cardiff goalscorers we have put together a list of their top 10 oldest ever scorers. There are sure to be one or two flashes from the past amongst this group.

Given everything that Sol Bamba has been through in the last year or so, it is only fitting that he makes this list. The popular defender managed to score what was his tenth goal for the club at the age of 34 years 01 month 09 days during a 5-1 home defeat against Watford on 22 February 2019.

Bamba has been an excellent player for Cardiff whenever he has featured for them over the last few years since he arrived at the club in October 2016.

The defender proved to be a magnificent addition to the squad and he went on to score two goals in his 26 Championship appearances in his first season to help the Bluebirds secure a 12th place finish.

The following season, Bamba was instrumental at the heart of their defence as Warnock guided Cardiff to a second-place finish and secure automatic promotion to the Premier League. The defender made 46 appearances in the league and scored four goals that term.

In the Premier League, Bamba was again able to pop up with four goals, one in defeat against Chelsea and two important goals in wins against Brighton and Southampton. He then scored a consolation in the 5-1 loss against Watford that sees him make this list. After that goal, he suffered a season-ending cruciate knee ligament injury against Wolves.

The last two seasons for Bamba have sadly been affected by injury and also of course health issues. However, it was delightful to see him take to the field on the final day of the season against Rotherham United.

Coming into the list in ninth place is another defender in the shape of Neil Cox. He managed to score what were his only two goals for the Bluebirds in the same game at the age of 34 years 04 months 03 days. Those came in a 3-0 win against Stoke City on 11 February 2006.

Cox was a player that only spent a single season with the Bluebirds having arrived at the start of the 2005/06 season on a free transfer following his departure from Watford.

The defender’s experience was a useful addition to the Cardiff squad and he managed to be a decent performer for them whenever he was called into action during his spell with the club.

The defender managed to make 27 appearances for the Bluebirds over the course of the 2005/06 season, although his chances of featuring more prominently were hampered by some injury issues and also the form of the likes of Darren Purse and Glen Loovens.

However, Cox did manage one stand-out performance for Cardiff and that is why he makes it into this list for his brace in the 3-0 win against Stoke in February 2006. The defender left the Bluebirds in the summer of 2006 and joined Crewe Alexandra.

Cardiff’s eighth oldest goalscorer at the moment is the popular figure of Australian defender Tony Vidmar. He makes it into the list here due to scoring his second and final goal for the club at the age of 34 years 07 months 22 days during a 2-1 defeat at Sunderland on 26 February 2005.

Vidmar was signed by the Bluebirds in the summer of 2003 on a free transfer following his departure from Middlesbrough. The defender swiftly became an important player for Cardiff and a popular figure amongst supporters for the performances he was able to deliver for them.

The defender made 45 appearances for Cardiff in the 2003/04 campaign and scored one goal for them that campaign as he helped them to a 13th placed finish in the First Division.

The following campaign, Vidmar remained an important performer for the club and he made another 33 appearances in all competitions. He makes this list for the one goal he scored that season during that 2-1 loss at Sunderland. Vidmar left the club the following summer and signed for NAC Breda.

Coming into the list in seventh place is here is forward Rickie Lambert. He makes the list having managed to score his fourth and final goal for the Bluebirds at the age of 34 years 09 months 10 days. That came during a 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa on 26 November 2016.

Lambert was signed by the Bluebirds in the summer of 2016 from West Brom for an undisclosed fee, and it was hoped that his experience could help to put Cardiff in a decent place to challenge for promotion from the Championship.

The forward looked like he was really getting going in a Cardiff shirt when he fired in two goals in a win against Rotherham in September 2016, but that would prove to the real highlight of his time at the Cardiff City Stadium. He then suffered a bad leg injury against Nottingham Forest in October that caused him to miss a chunk of matches.

However, Lambert did return and scored his fourth goal of the campaign in that 3-1 loss at Aston Villa the following month which gets him included here.

After that though further injuries and indifferent form saw him struggle to make much impact and he was allowed to leave the following summer.

This list is one that contains plenty of popular figures amongst Cardiff supporters, but arguably Craig Bellamy will be the most popular amongst them. He makes this list after scoring his final goal for the club at the age of 34 years 09 months 28 days. That came during a 2-1 defeat against Chelsea on 11 May 2014.

Some suggestions have been made that effort could be regarded as a potential own goal as it went in off César Azpilicueta, but it is down on his stats as his second goal for them that campaign (Sofascore).

Bellamy had two separate spells with Cardiff with his first coming during a loan from Manchester City during the 2010/11 campaign. In that season he managed to fire in 11 goals in his 35 Championship appearances to help the Bluebirds to a fourth-place finish in the Championship.

The Welshman returned for his second spell with the Bluebirds in the summer of 2012 and he managed to play an important role in them securing promotion to the Premier League with four goals in his 33 appearances that term.

The following season was his final one with Cardiff and he managed to score twice that term in 22 appearances, once against Norwich City and then his second goal came during the 2-1 defeat against Chelsea in May.

Making it into the list in fifth place is Trevor Sinclair. He makes the list having managed to score his second and final goal for the Bluebirds at the age of 35 years 01 month 10 days. That came during a 3-1 home win against Blackpool in the Championship on 12 April 2008.

Sinclair like one or two others on this list did not spend a long time with Cardiff, with him having just a single season with the club after arriving in the summer of 2007 following his release by Manchester City. He managed to score his first goal for the club during a League Cup tie with West Brom in September 2007.

That was one of just two goals he managed to score for the Bluebirds during his 26 appearances in all competitions. His second goal came during that win against Blackpool in April 2008.

He did help Cardiff reach the FA Cup final at Wembley against Portsmouth and came off the bench as they lost 1-0. Sinclair then left the club in the summer of 2008.

In fourth place on this list is forward Heidar Helguson. He makes this list having scored his ninth and final for the Bluebirds at the age of 35 years 07 months 22 days. That came during a 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest on 13 April 2013.

Helguson was a vital part of the Cardiff squad that managed to earn promotion to the Premier League during the 2012/13 campaign with him having been signed by the Bluebirds in the summer of 2012 from QPR.

The forward was a very wise signing and he managed to fire in eight goals in total in the league and netted one more in the cups to finish as their top scorer in all competitions.

The striker’s ninth and final goal for the club cane during the end-of-season run-in in the vital 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest that move the Bluebirds ever nearer towards promotion to the Premier League. Helguson, despite helping them earn promotion was allowed to leave the club that summer.

Currently, Cardiff’s third oldest ever goalscorer is forward Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. He makes this list having managed to score his ninth and final goal for them at the age of 36 years 23 days. That came during a 3-2 defeat at Scunthorpe United on 19 April 2008.

Hasselbaink would spend just one season with the Bluebirds as they brought him into the club on a free transfer in the summer of 2007 following his departure from Charlton Athletic.

The forward added a lot of quality and experience to their attacking options during the 2007/08 season and was heavily involved throughout the campaign finding the net seven times in 36 league games.

The forward also played a vital role in the Bluebirds reaching the FA Cup final and scored in their 5th round win against Wolves along the way. His final appearance came in the FA Cup final at Wembley before his departure.

The last goal he scored for the club was the aforementioned one he got in the 3-2 loss at Scunthorpe in the end-of-season run-in.

The Bluebirds’ second oldest ever scorer at the moment is a name that will be something of a blast from the past to some supporters in the form of Robbie James.

He makes this list having scored his third and final goal for the club at the age of 36 years 06 months 05 days. That came on 28 September 1993 during a 3-1 loss against Standard Liege in the European Cup Winners Cup.

James was signed for Cardiff in 1992 and he played a vital role in helping the Bluebirds clinch promotion from the Third Division in his first season with the club managing to score two goals in his 49 appearances in all competitions.

He also helped the Bluebirds win the Welsh Cup that season which meant they qualified for the Cup Winners Cup the following campaign. James was less heavily involved for the club in the 1993/94 campaign, but he did manage to score his final goal for them in that 3-1 defeat against Standard Liege.

Currently, Cardiff’s oldest ever goalscorer and their second-oldest ever player is Andy Legg. He tops the list having netted his 15th and final goal for the club at the age of 36 years 08 months 11 days. That came during a 4-0 win against Wycombe Wanderers on 8 April 2003.

Legg was signed by the Bluebirds in 1998 from Reading and he was a risky signing by the club considering his prior connections with Swansea City. That saw him take time to win over supporters, but he eventually did become a popular figure around the club.

His best spell with the club came during the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 campaigns in which he was given the club’s Player of the Year award for his consistent performances.

Legg’s final season with the club came during the 2002/03 season, and he managed to make 46 appearances in all competitions and score three goals in the process. The last of those came with a memorable effort from the left-hand side that rounded off the 4-0 win for the Bluebirds against Wycombe.

He left the club the following summer having been asked to take a sizeable pay cut to his wages and ended up signing for Peterborough United.