Erol Bulut has revealed he held talks to become Cardiff City manager three years ago but instead chose to take the top job at Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
Bulut impressed in Turkey with his first few jobs in management, first with Yeni Malatyaspor and then with Alanyaspor, with whom he reached the final for the Turkish Cup in 2020. Clearly, at that time, he was turning heads and clubs both inside and outside of Turkey were taking a look at him, including Cardiff City, it seems.
At that stage, the Bluebirds were under the stewardship of Neil Harris, who himself guided the Welsh club to the play-offs during that campaign. However, Bulut revealed that at some point during that period, he held discreet talks to take over at Cardiff. When that was, exactly, is not specified, but on August 5, 2020 he took over at Fenerbahce and Cardiff would have to wait three years to get their man.
"I received an offer from Cardiff three years ago," Bulut told Turkish outlet Milliyet. "I was in Alanyaspor at that time. We had meetings, but Fenerbahce weighed more. I chose Fenerbahce. When the offer came this year, I said 'Why not?'. I went to Europe. It was my goal to get out."
Bulut's popularity in Cardiff has never been higher, at time of writing. He has steered the club to eighth in the Championship, with the Bluebirds having embarked on their best start to a league campaign since Neil Warnock got them promoted in the 2017/18 season.
After two years of battling relegation, it's been very much welcomed by the Bluebirds faithful. And while Bulut has stopped short of saying he is aiming for promotion this term, he has admitted that his goal is to finish inside the top 10, representing a big building block towards that ultimate goal after the horrific two seasons which have preceded this one.
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Speaking about his move to the Welsh capital, he added: "My days in Cardiff are very busy. We returned from the preparation camp, it is very busy there. There are 46 matches and cup matches a year in the Championship. The tempo is really high.
"The number of high-intensity running and sprints is high here. From Turkey, that's the difference with the team. The important thing is that you are 100 percent because you play games all the time.
"The last two years were not very good for Cardiff. With our arrival and a couple of transfers, we added excitement to the team and changed the atmosphere. We got closer to each other and tried to be one. Our goal is to be better than the last two years. Doing better. My goal is to keep the team in the top 10. Of course, it can be better."