Cardiff City’s new academy making time and space for future Aaron Ramseys

The summer arrival has helped the feel-good factor around a club who have spent two seasons fretting over relegation to the third tier, but could have happened sooner.

Borley admits Ramsey initially instigated thoughts over a move last January but his contract situation at Nice prevented it, but he would follow every fixture and message after every game.

“Even now I get a message after every game,” he adds. “He’s just enjoying himself here and it’s amazing we brought somebody back to the club who offers more than just what he can do on the pitch.

“And I think he can have a future here after finishing playing. He wants to get into coaching, football is his life and I think the club seems to be his life.

“You don’t have to ask him twice to do anything, he’d be volunteering to do it. He wants to be here and do sessions with age groups and I think he’ll just carry on and carry on and you never know, he may end up managing us one day.”

At the moment, Cardiff are happy with Erol Bulut who, speaking at the official opening of the academy a few hours before Tuesday night’s Championship win over Coventry City, said he is keenly aware of the desire to promote players from within.

“I’m not sure Aaron had something like this, it is a great facility,” said the Bluebirds boss. “But you still have to work hard and we will work hard to get more Ramseys on the pitch, to get more like the Colwill brothers (Rubin and Joel). Everything goes through hard working.”

It will not be just Ramsey who inspires, with the indoor arena named after former midfielder Peter Whittingham who died in 2020 at the age of 35.

“He was one the best footballers, if not the best, I’ve seen,” Borley says. “It’s difficult to accept he’s not here, but he’ll be here in spirit and that’s important for us.”

With skills arenas and gym areas, Bulut joked he was envious of the facilities with the club’s most recent accounts mentioning plans for a new first-team training ground, something Choo admitted were in the pipeline but that the global economics meant the club needed “small steps before we can run”.

It is a similar message for first-team progress under Bulut, shying away from promotion talks and saying that a top-half finish would represent steady improvement after recent campaigns.

That is for the future, which is what Cardiff hope their investment – and teleportation of the Dr Who building – will help secure.