Steve Morison has revealed what his plans are for Cardiff City’s squad for next season.

Morison signed a contract extension earlier this month, which has now allowed him to look forward to the next campaign with the club.

The Bluebirds have all but confirmed their status as a Championship club with recent form seeing them move to 17th in the table, 18 points clear of the relegation zone. 

With several players set to be out of contract in the summer, the club is working on deciding who will make up the squad for the 2022/23 campaign. 

Morison has admitted he wants to bridge the gap between the vibrant youth of the squad and the ageing veterans. 

"There will still be a mixture, it will just be different to how the squad is now," said Morison, via Wales Online. 

"When we played against Coventry, that was one of the youngest starting line-ups we have had.

"You forget how young some of the players are now, people like Mark McGuinness, you think they're a bit older than they are. He had a tough paper round, Macca!

"The market we have looked for the loan players, they are younger players, and we want a core group from the academy, which we have got here. But they still need to work incredibly hard to make themselves stalwarts to be picked in the team.

"We need bridge the gap. We need a more blended group. We need to have a few older heads.”

Morison went on to confirm that the club have not opened talks over a new contract with the older heads of the squad.

Instead, Cardiff recently announced new deals for youngsters such as Isaak Davies, Oliver Denham and Jai Semenyo. 

Morison also confirmed that the market simply isn’t there anymore for a club like Cardiff to offer large paydays to play for the club. 

The Verdict

Building a squad based on youth is the right step for Cardiff to make at this time.

Younger players can be given experience to prove themselves at this level and those who perform well will see their value rise rapidly, which is how Cardiff can grow as a club.

Relying on older players is a short-term solution for any club that cannot be relied upon as players hit their decline.

Morison has done well to integrate young players into the side this season and has earned the chance to continue doing so next season as well.