Catch Up. Confirmation of retained list

Last updated : 05 June 2021 By Michael Morris

Sol Bamba, Jonny Williams, Joe Bennett, Junior Hoilett and Joe Day will leave Cardiff City this summer, writes BBC Wales.

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Defender Bamba has been battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma but announced in May he was "cancer free".

The 36-year-old plus defender Bennett, 31, and winger Hoilett, 30, joined in 2016 but are all now out of contract.

Midfielder Williams, 27, who is part of Wales' Euro 2020 squad, only joined in February, while goalkeeper Day, 30, has been on loan at Bristol Rovers.

A statement from the Championship club said: "Our departing Bluebirds will always be welcome here at Cardiff City Stadium and we wish them all the very best for the future."

Bamba made 118 appearances for the Bluebirds having arrived as a free agent in October 2016, scoring the winner on his debut against Bristol City in what was also Neil Warnock's first game in charge of the club.

The Ivory Coast international's immediate impact - and rapport with Warnock - helped move the club from relegation worries to a mid-table finish, before promotion to the Premier League the following season.

Bamba played in every game of that successful promotion campaign and was named in the Championship team of the season.

Hoilett had similar success, making his debut in the same match after his own free transfer to Cardiff City Stadium, going on to play 185 games for the south Wales club, scoring 25 goals.

Bamba had already struggled to hold down a regular place following the club's relegation in 2019 before his well-publicised health battle this year.

He did make one last appearance as a late substitute in the final-day draw with Rotherham.

Hoilett had also seen opportunities limited following the arrival of Mick McCarthy as manager and announced he was set to leave last month, while Bennett has not played since suffering cruciate knee liagement damage in a Championship match against Derby County in March.

Williams, currently part of the Wales Euro 2020 squad, was signed by McCarthy on a short-term deal but only made nine appearances.

Meanwhile, Day managed just one start in his time at Cardiff City Stadium having made the switch from near neighbours Newport County in 2019

Full list from www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk

2020/21 Retained List

First team

Leandro Bacuna

Joel Bagan

Ciaron Brown

Rubin Colwill

Aden Flint

Robert Glatzel

Mark Harris

Kieffer Moore

Sean Morrison

Josh Murphy

Curtis Nelson

Perry Ng

Marlon Pack

Dillon Phillips

Joe Ralls

Tom Sang

Alex Smithies

Lee Tomlin

Isaac Vassell

Will Vaulks

Max Watters

Gavin Whyte

Retained Under 23s

Ibrahim Bakare

Sam Bowen (contract offered)

Isaak Davies

Oliver Denham

Kieron Evans

Caleb Hughes

Tavio D'Almeida

Ntazana Mayembe

Keenan Patten

George Ratcliffe

Chanka Zimba

Departing U23s: Jack Bodenham, Aaron Bolger, Daniel Griffiths, Roland Idowu, Daniel Martin, Camron McWilliams, Ryan Reynolds, James Waite, Jack Williams, Ben Margetson.

Retained scholars

Jac Clay

Benjamin Coley

James Crole

Thomas Davies

Aidan MacNamara

Joshua Rippon

Rhys Schwank

Contracts offered: Taylor Jones, Ryan Kavanagh, Eli King, Siyabonga Ligendza, Owen Pritchard and Nativ Yanko.

Departing scholars*: Mweembe Chiabi, Jaimie Cogman, Bradley Stewart and Frazer Thomas.

*Ethan Vaughan and Jack Masrani will return after recovering from injury for pre-season assessment.