![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_GettyImages-2257308164-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Bluebirds were linked with the winger earleir this week<\/p>\n
Kelly N’Mai of Salford City(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Brian Barry-Murphy has poured cold water over Cardiff City\u2019s reported interest in Salford City winger Kelly N\u2019Mai, insisting the Bluebirds will not be signing the 21-year-old and suggesting the club is being used amid their impressive form this season.<\/p>\n
Cardiff<\/a> were linked with a late move for N\u2019Mai earlier this week, with reports claiming the League One leaders were weighing up further attacking reinforcements as they push towards promotion.<\/p>\n But Barry-Murphy was emphatic when asked about the speculation, making it clear there was no truth to the link.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not our player \u2014 he is a Salford player,\u201d Barry-Murphy said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the issue always is players can be linked with us, but obviously if they\u2019re linked with us because we\u2019re doing so well, it\u2019s beneficial for them sometimes.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019m conscious before I say we\u2019re not being linked with somebody and then they may or may not secure a move off the back of that link, but we won\u2019t be signing Kelly.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not our player, so I wouldn\u2019t discuss that now, but we won\u2019t be signing him.\u201d<\/p>\n The speculation came against the backdrop of a strong January for Cardiff, who have focused on quality rather than wholesale changes as they look to secure an immediate return to the Championship.<\/p>\n The Bluebirds have already completed the permanent signing of goalkeeper Harry Tyrer from Everton, while several players have departed on loan or permanently to streamline the squad.<\/p>\n Barry-Murphy\u2019s comments underline Cardiff\u2019s stance as the transfer window enters its final stages, with the manager wary of the club\u2019s name being used as leverage in negotiations elsewhere.<\/p>\n With Cardiff flying high at the top of League One, interest in potential additions is inevitable, but Barry-Murphy appears determined to keep focus on his current group rather than fuel external speculation.<\/p>\n N\u2019Mai, who has enjoyed an impressive rise with Salford over the past two seasons, has previously attracted interest from Championship clubs and has continued to deliver strong numbers this campaign.<\/p>\n However, despite the reported link, Cardiff will not be pursuing a move for the winger as they prepare for the run-in and look to maintain momentum at the summit of the table.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n *Sign up to our daily Bluebirds newsletter here<\/a> and our WhatsApp channel here<\/a>. Cardiff City correspondent Glen Williams is also on social media. He can be found on his X account here<\/a>, on Instagram<\/a>, on TikTok<\/a> and on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Bluebirds were linked with the winger earleir this week Kelly N’Mai of Salford City(Image: Getty Images) Brian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[79748,40156,218,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-388642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-brian-barry-murphy","tag-cardiff-city-fc","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}