Realistically, does Ciaron Brown have a future at Cardiff City?

Ciaron Brown is currently enduring his fourth loan spell away from Cardiff City, since signing from Wealdstone in January 2018, and will be hoping to contribute to a late League One play-off dash with Oxford United.

The 24-year-old earned his first consistent run in the first team under Mick McCarthy last season, but struggled to build on that in 2021/22, leading to heading out on loan again in January.

The Northern Ireland international is very versatile, able to play as a centre back, a left back and a left wing back, offering tactical flexibility to whoever is in the dugout.

However, with his contract expiring in the summer, had Steve Morison wanted to keep hold of him for next season, the chances are he would not have been sent out on loan again.

Here, we have taken a look into whether Brown should depart of stay put in the Welsh capital this summer…

He should stay

The Bluebirds are in their final year of parachute payments and will not be able to throw their weight around in the summer window, the way that they have in previous.

Therefore, keeping a player around who can cover multiple positions could have its advantages to Morison.

Cardiff have been a little too reliant on loan signings this season and that could leave them wanting in the summer, offering Brown a new deal would go some way towards addressing that issue.

He should go

At 24, it is important that Brown is playing regularly and that does not seem immediately possible at Championship level.

If not Oxford, Brown would be an attractive commodity for many third tier clubs next season, and it would be a sensible stepping stone at this stage of his career, having not yet been first choice for a whole campaign in the EFL.

Left sided defenders have increased