Erol Bulut on shortlist for huge job in Turkey as end of Cardiff City deal nears

Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut is reportedly on a seven-man shortlist to take the Besiktas job this summer.

Bulut's contract is up at the end of the season, meaning he has only three games left as Bluebirds manager, at the time of writing. The decision with regards to his future lies solely in the hands of Vincent Tan.

Bulut was brought over with the remit of getting the team into the top half of the table, perhaps even the top 10, with a view to building on that next year. The manager has steered Cardiff away from the relegation dogfight, in which they have been embroiled for the last two seasons, and they currently sit in 11th place with three games to play.

READ MORE: Bulut updates fans on banished duo and five rivals eye £11m ex-Bluebird

READ MORE: How much Cardiff City paid in agents' fees as Leeds United spend eyewatering

But the longer the manager's situation drags on without any news, the less likely it appears he will be the man in the dugout next term. Bulut has had his critics with regards to tactics, decisions and some transfer calls — although he experienced hugely testing conditions in both the summer and January — but, by and large, he has brought a lot of wins and instilled some confidence in the club again.

Nevertheless, Tan, famous for wanting attacking football and shots being unleashed on goal, is as yet unmoved. Sign up to our Cardiff City newsletter here.

And other clubs now appear to be monitoring the manager's situation. Indeed, Turkish outlet Fanatik claim that Bulut is among a handful of people being considered to take over from former Portugal boss Fernando Santos, who was axed by Besiktas at the weekend. Santos' assistant, Serdar Topraktepe, has taken over until the end of the season.

Besiktas is one of Turkey's three biggest and most successful clubs, alongside Fenerbahce, whom Bulut has previously managed, and Galatasaray.

Other notable names reportedly on Besiktas' list are Chelsea legend Frank Lampard, ex-Bayern Munich and Germany boss Hansi Flick, former Monaco and Wolfsburg manager Niko Kovac, AC Milan great Gennaro Gattuso, Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic and Antalyaspor boss Sergen Yalçın.

WHATSAPP: Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community

It looks unlikely that Bulut's situation will be resolved until after the season, similar to Sabri Lamouchi's situation 12 months ago. Lamouchi also carried out his remit of keeping the club in the Championship, but Tan decided to let him leave, with a lack of "chemistry" with the owner the reason cited.

It's fair to say that while fans will have their gripes about certain aspects of Bulut's time in charge of Cardiff so far, there is an overwhelming desire among supporters for him to stay. Whether that transpires or not is down to only one man.