By Glen Williams
Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Friday, July 4. Callum O’Dowda’s departure to Hungarian side Ferencvaros has been confirmed. The Republic of Ireland international has joined the Budapest side on a permanent deal. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community . His departure represents the first exit of a contracted player this summer after nine senior players saw their contracts expire earlier this week. The 30-year-old signed a new contract with Cardiff earlier this year which should have taken him to 2028, however following relegation he has opted to head to the continent for a new challenge. The Hungarian side are managed by former Republic of Ireland and Tottenham striker Robbie Keane and are in the qualifying rounds for the Champions League . They won the Hungarian top flight last season. O’Dowda signed under Steve Morison back in 2022 and went on to represent the club on 94 occasions, scoring six goals and providing eight assists. After injuries to several senior stars last year – like Joe Ralls, Aaron Ramsey and Jak Alnwick – the utility player donned the captain’s arm band on a number of occasions. “We鈥檇 like to thank Callum for his efforts over the past three seasons and wish him the best of luck for the future,” the club said in a statement. While Cardiff fans are likely to have to wait until after the pre-season tour of Spain for senior signings, there could be movement at under-21s level. It is understood Cardiff are keen on signing recently-released Aston Villa midfielder Kyrie Pierre. The 20-year-old, who plays centrally but can also operate on either wing, left Villa last month, having joined their academy from Bristol Rovers back in 2021. He played in Europe in and Premier League 2 for the young Villans. The youngster scored five times in 32 Premier League 2 appearances for the Midlands club. City, who are yet to agree personal terms with Pierre, on Thursday announced the addition of another midfielder in Matthew Apter, another who left a Premier League club 鈥擡verton鈥 this summer. Centre-back duo Charlie O’Brien, a Cork native just like new first-team boss Barry-Murphy, and Gabriel Keita were also confirmed as academy signings. Isaac Jefferies has also put pen to paper on a new deal with the club. Wales captain Aaron Ramsey has completed his move to Mexican top-flight side Pumas UNAM, becoming the first high-profile British player to sign for a club in Liga MX. The 34-year-old has signed a one-year deal with the Mexico City-based outfit, officially named Club Universidad Nacional, and says he is 鈥渆xcited by the challenge鈥 of continuing his career in North America. Ramsey, who shares an agent with Pumas manager and former Celtic player Efra铆n Ju谩rez, said the head coach played a key role in convincing him to make the switch. 鈥淚 had many conversations with him,鈥 said the former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder. 鈥淲hat he’s done in his young career so far has been exceptional. The vision and the values this club have really excited me and was something I wanted to be a part of.” The Caerphilly-born playmaker has not featured for Wales since September 2024 and last played a competitive game in March. Now, he faces the physical demands of playing at altitude in one of the world鈥檚 most challenging footballing environments. 鈥淭he altitude is definitely something to get used to,鈥 he admitted. 鈥淚’m doing well at the moment. Now it’s about taking the next steps and hopefully I’ll be on that pitch as soon as possible helping my team-mates. I don’t want to put a date on it but hopefully very soon.鈥 Despite his recent injury setbacks, Ramsey remains determined to prolong his career and hopes to lead Wales at the 2026 World Cup. He joins a Pumas side who finished sixth in the Liga MX standings last season and qualified for the Concacaf Champions Cup. 鈥淚鈥檝e played with players who understand this league and have had conversations with them,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very technical, a lot of great players have been produced, and the national team is very good.鈥 Ramsey added: 鈥淚鈥檝e played for some of the best teams in the world and have always had pressure to win. I know what this club is capable of and I want to help them be successful and hopefully lift some silverware.鈥 Pumas have not won a Mexican league title since 2011, but Ramsey says he is undaunted by the challenge and is eager to make his mark. 鈥淚鈥檝e experienced a lot in my career and that puts me in a good place going forward,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 realise the expectation on this club and I鈥檓 here to play my part and help deliver what we all want this season.鈥 Cardiff City’s first away game of the season against Port Vale has been moved to be on TV. The Bluebirds will feature on live television four times in August after Sky Sports selected a number of their League One fixtures for broadcast. Brian Barry-Murphy鈥檚 side will kick off their 2025/26 campaign in front of the cameras at Cardiff City Stadium, with their opening match against Peterborough United moved to a 12:30pm kick-off on Saturday, 2 August. The EFL and Sky Sports have now confirmed their live picks through to the end of September, with three more Cardiff games chosen for coverage in the opening month of the season. City鈥檚 first away game of the campaign, against Port Vale, has been rescheduled for an 8pm kick-off on Thursday, 7 August. Later in the month, their trip to Luton Town will also be shown live, with a lunchtime kick-off at Kenilworth Road set for 12:30pm on Saturday, 23 August. The final televised fixture in the current selection window will see Cardiff host Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, 30 August, also kicking off at 12:30pm. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here .