Cardiff City: Krystian Bielik and Gabriel Osho provide boost for Brian Barry-Murphy

Head coach Brian Barry-Murphy says Cardiff City’s defensive crisis has been alleviated with the “positive” arrival of Krystian Bielik and the potential return of Gabriel Osho.

Bielik joined the Bluebirds on a three-year contract from West Bromwich Albion, while Osho has returned to training after sustaining a knee injury during the 1-1 draw against Wrexham.

In addition to Osho, who could return to action against Sheffield United on Saturday, Cardiff have been missing injured centre-backs Calum Chambers, Dylan Lawlor and Will Fish.

“We’ve had relatively positive news. Gabriel Osho trained on Tuesday, so hopefully he’ll continue today,” said Barry-Murphy.

“We haven’t seen a lot of Krystian yet because of the hurried nature of this [transfer], so we’ll see how he is today in training and then make a judgement.

“As pleased as we are to have him here, I think it’s important that we don’t rush him into doing something that he’s not ready for.”

Barry-Murphy says that while Bielik’s arrival eases the defensive worries, it also offers options in central midfield.

The versatility of the ex-Derby and Birmingham player is why the Cardiff boss has been tracking him for a “very long time “.

“I think the situation was urgent probably from the time that Ryan Wintle left the club,” added Barry-Murphy.

“We’re very aware of that area of the team needing significant reinforcements, and Krystian was always the one that we wanted to bring in, if possible.

“His qualities are obvious. He’s a highly technical player who’s played at a very high level for a very long time.

“The appeal of Krystian is that we see him equally adept at playing both as a holding midfield player and as a centre-back, and whatever we think is most beneficial for the team and the opponents we face.

“If he does well enough, then he’s a player. If he doesn’t, then obviously he has strong competition in both departments.