Craig Bellamy appointed as Cardiff City player development manager

Former Wales striker Craig Bellamy has been appointed as player development manager at Championship side Cardiff City.

The 37-year-old will be overseeing the development of the club's younger players on and off the field, assisting all age groups in their progression towards first-team football.

Speaking of Bellamy's return to Cardiff, chief executive Ken Choo said: "The club has recently undertaken an internal restructure of its academy and development programmes.

"With this firmly in mind, it's felt that having somebody of Craig's stature in this role can be of huge significance to us moving forward. I know that Neil Warnock feels Craig's influence here can create greater synergy between our youth players and the first team with the ultimate goal of bringing players through to senior football.

"Craig's experience and knowledge of the game speaks for itself and we felt he was the only candidate we wanted to take this critical new position at the club. We hope that our younger players will see Craig as a role model, somebody who's playing career they want to emulate."

Bellamy began his professional career at Norwich City in 1996 and played for a number of top-flight clubs before hanging up his boots in 2014 following a two-year spell with the Bluebirds.