Here’s the top Cardiff City news for Thursday 21st December.

No contact through Panzo or Runarsson

Erol Bulut has had no contact with top clubs Jonathan Panzo or Alex Runarsson despite a lack of playing time.

Panzo had to be extremely patient as he watched from the sidelines as Dimitrios Goutas and Mark McGuinness formed a fantastic partnership in central defense. This means Panzo has made just two league appearances and one Carabao Cup appearance for the Bluebirds.

It would be understandable if Nottingham Forest wanted to recall Panzo and send him somewhere else where he could play regularly. If that is the case, Bulut says the club has options to fall back on. Sign up to our Cardiff City newsletter here

PRESS CONFERENCE: Read what Errol Bulut had to say ahead of the Bluebirds’ game against Sheffield Wednesday

“That could happen,” he said when asked about Panzo’s possible retirement. “We have options, if that happens we will look for another one. “They haven’t been in touch yet.”

When asked about Alex Runarsson and Arsenal, Bulut added: “So far we haven’t received a single call or message.”

Runarsson played against Ipswich earlier in the campaign but struggled in the 3-2 defeat. At the end of November he replaced Jak Alnwick again and had a run of five games between the sticks, during which he was not covered in glory.

Explaining the current situation, Bulut added: “Last season. He was the second goalkeeper, but we stuck with him because we saw we could do something with him because Rocky (Ryan Allsop) wanted to leave. We chose Runarsson because he knew him from when he played for Alanyaspor. Now we have two good, quality goalkeepers.

“Jack played well, but after the Watford game his confidence wasn’t the same as before because he made a small mistake with the ball. It was a moment when we changed so that I could regain his trust.

“It’s not easy for Alex to arrive and immediately show great results. Sometimes you make mistakes in the game, just like any other player. If we talk about each player’s mistakes individually, we can talk from now until tomorrow. “We made a lot of mistakes.”

The mystery of Wintle’s omission

Ryan Wintle was left out of the squad for last weekend’s defeat to Hull City but is not injured. Wintle has worn the armband for most of this season, with Aaron Ramsey and Joe Ralls missing many games due to injury, and has been a regular.

The Humberside midfielder’s absence was thought to be due to injury, but Bulut revealed he was simply not selected, shrouding the situation in a bit of mystery.

“He didn’t have any injuries,” the Bluebirds coach said. When asked if he had simply not been selected for the team, Bulut replied: “Yes.” However, no further explanation was provided.

However, it appears he will be included in the squad to face Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.

“He’s in shape. He’s training well now. No problems. It looks like he’ll be in the lineup.”

McGuinness: I would like to be the captain

Mark McGuinness has admitted he would like to be captain at some point in his career after appearing reluctant to wear the captain’s armband during the defeat to Birmingham City.

There was a moment during the scrum when Ryan Wintle was sent off and Manolis Siopis and McGuinness had a “me, you” moment in the captain’s armband, with the defender reluctantly taking on the role.

Explaining the situation, he laughed and said: “Because I’m 22 years old… look, I would like to be captain and I hope to achieve that in my career, maybe later. But it’s a great honor to be captain of the club. I have to stop being a country child!

“I took it and even though it lasted 20 minutes, it was very enjoyable.”

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Bulut: The attack needs more

Erol Bulut reiterated his stance that Cardiff must strengthen their attack in the new year.

City’s attackers have been prone to failure lately and it seems to be getting easier and easier to defend against. It is there, according to Bulut, that the Bluebirds should strengthen in the January window.

“In terms of attack, we need more players, he said. – In defense we are quite normal.

“If we look at our championship, in defense we are in the top five. In attack we have to create more and score more. The start of the season was very good, but now we are not so good. Now we have to keep working. I hope we do something to make things a lot better.”

Kieffer Moore and midfielder Anastasios Bakasetas have been heavily linked in recent weeks and months.