Vincent Tan's student son unofficially working for Cardiff City

Vincent Tan with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

The current campaign has seen Cardiff suffer one setback after another. After another turbulent week in south Wales, which saw allegations of an illegal bonus offered by the owners, it has emerged that the owner Vincent Tan’s son, Morvin, is actually working in an unofficial capacity for Cardiff City.

According to the Guardian, Morvin, who is a student in London has been acting as an intermediary between his father and the club. The work he does primarily involves him “taking a look at the numbers”, in relation to player transactions. Not only that, he is also involved in incoming and outgoing transfers during the January window. Sources at the club have said that not only is Morvin tasked with the responsibility of identifying the players, but also has the power to sign off a deal, but only after being approved by his father and the board.

Although there is no suggestion that there is any wrongdoing on the part of Vincent Tan or Morvin, the fact that a student, in his early 20s with no previous professional footballing experience is handling player transfers is something is sure to raise a few eyebrows.

Many believe that Morvin, who isn’t officially employed by the club, is merely there to report on what happens to his father. Not only that, it also provides the owner with another set of eyes, to keep track of the finances of the club. This comes on the back of a week in which the owner reportedly offered the players a £3.7m survival bonus, should they avoid the drop, something that is against the Premier League rules.

It is also understood that Morvin has developed a close working relationship with Will Salthouse. Salthouse is the agent who represents both Wilfried Zaha and Kenwyne Jones, players who arrived at Cardiff at various intervals this season. Whilst Zaha is only on loan, it is no surprise to see how the Bluebirds, got their hands on one of the hottest English players so easily.

The running of the Bluebirds is certainly one that is continuing to attract too many unwanted attention. These revelations aren’t the start. Earlier in the campaign, Iain Moody, who was the head of recruitment was forced to leave in October after his visa application was rejected. Following his removal, Alisher Apsalyamov, a 23-year-old Kazakh and a friend of Morvin took his place.

However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Cardiff manager, who was brought in by Tan isn’t concerned about the owner and the allegations regarding the bonus. Solskjaer said “We’ve spoken to the Premier League and they know the situation and I don’t think there will be a problem.”

He also went onto defend Tan by saying “Whether this was said or that was said [by Tan], that’s missing the point for me, that’s completely irrelevant. What’s relevant is that we are there together.”

“He was there to encourage the lads, back the team, he’s behind us. And we’re here to get the job done. He was there to rally everyone. I invited him to come. We showed unity and that’s what you’ve got to show to the players, that we’re all in this together. He’s the owner of the club, he wants to be successful, which is great, and he came there and showed that he is backing them. And he did great. When he was stood up on that chair and was talking to them: brilliant.”

Whatever happens off the pitch, on the pitch the stakes could hardly be higher as Cardiff face Fulham in a proverbial relegation six-pointer. If the Welsh club win, they might be able to put all of this behind them and concentrate on playing football instead of worrying about what allegation they might face next.