Cardiff City are hoping that this can be a memorable season.

The Bluebirds narrowly missed out on promotion last term after reaching the play-offs but the hope is that they can perhaps finish the job this time around after emerging as dark horses in the hunt for Premier League football.

Cardiff have some quality players in their ranks and have always been highly regarded as one of the best when it comes to developing young players and giving them a chance to shine.

While some youngsters don't always stick around in South Wales there's plenty of examples of their academy creating some proper talent.

Here are our top 10 best players produced by the Bluebirds.

There's no doubt that the midfielder is regarded as a Cardiff City and Welsh football legend.

After coming through the ranks with the Bluebirds Ledley went on to play over 250 matches for the Welsh side before eventually moving on to join Scottish giants Celtic in 2010.

Four successful years at Parkhead followed before the player moved to England and joined Crystal Palace where he was a central figure for the Eagles in the Premier League before leaving at the end of his contract in 2017.

Since then Ledley has played for Derby County, Charlton Athletic and Australian side Newcastle Jets but currently finds himself without a club.

At 34 the midfielder is in the autumn of his career but I'm sure every football fan in Wales would love to see him given one more opportunity before he hangs up his boots.

After being rejected by Swansea City as a child the defender linked up with Cardiff City at the age of eight.

Matthews progressed through the youth ranks and went on to make 48 appearances for the Bluebirds before completing a move to Celtic in 2011.

The full-back made 150 appearances for the Scottish giants during his four years in Glasgow before moving to England with Sunderland.

His time at Sunderland was mixed at best and he ended up leaving the club in 2019 in favour of a move to Charlton Athletic where he's currently playing.

Matthews has featured more than 20 times for Lee Bowyer's side this term as they endure a difficult campaign in League One.

A player who started his young career with Cardiff City but never actually made it into their first team.

Lockyer left the Bluebirds to sign a scholarship with Bristol Rovers where he played an impressive 284 times for the club during a nine-year stay.

With his contract expiring in 2019 the centre-back completed a move to Charlton Athletic after they had secured promotion to the Championship.

After a campaign where Lockyer was a first team regular under Lee Bowyer the defender was allowed to leave the Addicks on a free transfer after they suffered relegation to League One, leaving him with the chance to join Luton Town in the second tier.

He's certainly acclimatised to life in the Championship after establishing himself as a regular for the Hatters and making a point to Cardiff about his undoubted potential.

The defender is undoubtedly a legend of Welsh football after making 99 appearances for the senior national side.

Gunter's career started with Cardiff City where he came through the youth ranks before making 32 appearances for the Bluebirds.

After bursting onto the scene in South Wales the full-back earned a big move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 but things didn't go to plan and he ended up playing on loan with Nottingham Forest - a club he'd go on to sign with permanently.

It was there that Gunter made 155 appearances before moving to Reading and making an impressive 314 more during an eight-year period with the Royals.

After leaving the club at the end of last summer the full-back joined Charlton Athletic in 2020 where he has proven himself as a first team regular under Lee Bowyer.

Another player who left Cardiff City long before getting to first team level.

Hughes played for the Bluebirds until the age of 15 when he was released and went on to join Newport County.

It was there that the defender went on to make 141 appearances before securing a move to Peterborough United in 2016.

After seeing out his two-year deal with the Posh Hughes secured a deal to move to Preston North End in the Championship - a club where he has made 88 appearances to date as he continues thrive in the second tier.

At 28 years of age the defender is still in his prime and I'm sure that Cardiff will be interested to see how his career develops from here.

The only player on our list who is still playing for Cardiff City.

Ralls started his career at Aldershot Town before moving to Farnborough and eventually landing in South Wales at the age of 17.

After impressing Neal Ardley in the development squads the midfielder was handed his Cardiff debut in August 2011 - the first of many appearances for the club.

In fact, Ralls has made 269 appearances for the Bluebirds so far in his career and will be hoping to add to that in the coming years.

With Cardiff firmly in contention for promotion there's no doubt that Ralls would love to play a role in helping the Bluebirds back into the top flight.

A player who was snapped up at the young age of 16.

Matondo played for Cardiff City as a youth player before being signed up by Manchester City in 2016 and placed in their development set-up.

He stayed with the Premier League giants until 2019 when he signed for German outfit Schalke 04 for a reported fee of £11million.

Despite making 32 appearances for the German side the winger was allowed to leave the club on a loan deal earlier this year and joined Stoke City in the Championship on a deal until the end of the season.

Since then Matondo has made five appearances for the Potters as they look to kick on in the Championship.

The striker joined Cardiff City's academy set-up in 1997 after impressing in a local youth match.

Earnshaw stayed with the Bluebirds for seven years in total as he established himself as a first team player before making the move on to West Brom in 2004.

After two years there he had spells with Norwich City, Derby County and Nottingham Forest before heading back to Cardiff in 2011.

Earnshaw's career in the UK started to fizzle out at that point but with 59 caps for Wales under his belt few could dispute his status as one of Cardiff's top academy graduates.

Few can argue with the career that James Collins has had.

After coming through the ranks with Cardiff City the defender spent almost five years in South Wales before joining West Ham United in 2005.

Four successful years in East London followed before he linked up with Aston Villa in 2009, before heading back to West Ham in 2012.

Collins finished his career with Ipswich Town in 2020 and will be fondly remembered as one of the best graduates from Cardiff's academy.

There's little doubt about the top Cardiff City academy player who is still in the game.

After coming through the youth ranks with the Bluebirds Ramsey always looked like a player who was destined for the top and made 28 appearances for the South Wales club.

Ramsey was just a teenager when he completed a move to Arsenal where he made a very impressive 371 appearances for the club and established himself as one of the best players in the Premier league.

With his contract running down the Wales international signed a deal with Italian giants Juventus where he has been playing ever since.

With 61 appearances for the Old Lady under his belt it's little surprise that Ramsey tops the ranks of Cardiff's best academy graduates.