Cardiff City dismissed Erol Bulut on Sunday and one early candidate linked with the Bluebirds’ hot seat is Freyr Alexandersson, who reportedly flew into the Welsh city to discuss the vacant role.
Alexandersson is currently the manager of Belgian club KV Kortrijk. However, reports from Het Nieuwsblad circulated early this week about the Icelandic coach’s future in Belgium after he missed training. Rumours suggested that he was already in discussions to succeed Bulut at the Cardiff City Stadium.
The 41-year-old quickly shut down any speculation with a public post on his personal X account. Here Alexandersson directly addressed a KV Kortrijk fan who questioned his future at the club after he supposedly spoke to Cardiff. The Icelandic coach called out misinformation in articles and referred to the reports as “lies”.
“The only lies are the ones in that article. Would never set up this kind of scenario. Thanks for your support.”
Cardiff City Football Club can confirm First Team Manager Erol Bulut has been relieved of his duties and will leave the Club with immediate effect.
The Board of Directors wish to thank Erol for all of his hard work and wish him well for the future.
— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) September 22, 2024
The current KV Kortrijk boss was touted as an early favourite to become the new Cardiff manager. Alexandersson has links with Vincent Tan, who owns the Bluebirds and is a majority shareholder at KV Kortrijk.
In addition, the former Lyngby manager admitted his aspirations to lead Cardiff in the future. Speaking during an interview with Fotbolti this summer, Alexandersson made no secret about lining up a potential move to the UK.
“Vincent Tan and Ken Choo look after both clubs. It’s no secret, and when I spoke to Kortrijk at the time, I also had a conversation with the management of Cardiff that I’m going to train in England. I’m going to be a manager in the Championship or the Premier League.
“There are big dreams and I realise that. It would be great if it was Cardiff, I would love to coach Cardiff at some point.”
Moreover, the Icelandic coach came into the limelight last season after keeping his side in the Belgian top flight. De Kerels were bottom of the Jupler Pro League when Alexandersson was appointed in January 2024. However, a return of eight wins and three draws helped the Belgian outfit to avoid relegation.
Such an ability to turn around a relegation-threatened side has strengthened the links between Alexandersson and Cardiff. The Welsh side are bottom of the Championship after taking just one point from their opening six matches. A 2-0 home defeat against Leeds led to Bulut’s sacking and the Bluebirds’ search for a new boss continues.
Writer’s View
A manager’s public response to rumours immediately dampens any speculation. In this case, Alexandersson has moved quickly to take the sting out of media reports, which ultimately distances him from the managerial role at Cardiff for the time being.
However, there could be more twists and turns in this saga, particularly as the Icelandic coach isn’t in KV Kortrijk’s good books. His words about leaving the club have seemingly caused fan frustrations and the Belgian side find themselves inside the relegation zone this season, having notched just two wins from eight matches. Ultimately, Alexandersson future with the Pro League outfit could be in doubt so there is still potential for this managerial story to rumble on.
