Charlton Athletic boss Nathan Jones is now the favourite to take over at boyhood club Cardiff City in a potential nightmare scenario for the Addicks. Charlton have started well under Jones this season after a campaign to forget of last, with the Welsh boss helping to stabilise the club after arriving after the turn of the year.
In the division above, Cardiff City are off to a disastrous start, failing to pick up a single win so far, stuck on one point having scored only one goal. That start has led the Bluebirds to sack Erol Bulut just months after handing him a new two-year contract.
The Welsh club are now on the lookout for a new manager, and the oddsmakers have Charlton boss Jones as the favourite, given he grew up in the Valleys supporting the Bluebirds. Jones said back in 2022: “I grew up in the Rhondda valley, where all my mates were Cardiff fans. I had the chance to sign for Bristol City or Cardiff City and I signed for Cardiff City.
“I worked on the turnstiles when I was an apprentice and then rushed and watched all the games. All my mates came down and then we would all go back and chat about the games. I love Cardiff City. I grew up in the Rhondda and it’s either Cardiff or Swansea. There’s probably more Cardiff fans in the Rhondda valley than Swansea. I want to see Welsh football do well. I played for Merthyr. I want to see Merthyr do well and Newport. It’s better when Wrexham, Newport, and Cardiff do well.”
Jones always open to Wales return
Asked at the time whether he would want to manage Cardiff, he added: “You never know where your career is going to take you. Here at Cardiff, Steve (Morison) has just come in and implemented something so he will need time. But, look, eventually, you never know. It’s not something I can sit here now and say, ‘Yeah, it’s something I really want to do’, but, being home in Wales, I love Wales, I am a very proud Welshman, it’s a long way in the future but I would never turn that down.”
Elsewhere, bookmakers have former Stoke City boss Steven Schumacher as second favourite, while the head coach of Cardiff’s sister club Kortrijk, Freyr Alexandersson, is also among the leading candidates. Alex Neil, Brian Barry-Murphy and current caretaker boss Omar Riza are also being linked.
