FORMER Oxford United midfielder Dean Whitehead is set to join the coaching staff at Cardiff City.
Abingdon-born Whitehead joined Turkish giants Besiktas as a coach in July.
Interim Cardiff manager Mark Hudson is now targeting a return to the UK for Whitehead.
Hudson told WalesOnline: “I think it’s all completed, which is pleasing.
“I have been after him for a while, he’s a good coach Dean Whitehead, someone I’ve worked with before.
“He has just been at Besiktas, so it shows he is top-quality. He is a very good coach and a very good human being.
“I had trials there as a goalkeeper when I was 12 or 13.”
— Oxford Mail OUFC (@OxfordMailOUFC) November 3, 2022
Fresh after scoring his first goal in professional football, Gatlin O’Donkor reveals he had trials as a goalkeeper at Reading #oufc https://t.co/FzT7HU8u8U pic.twitter.com/a62wpxEBoC
“He will be first-team coach. We are all working, we are all collaborative, we all work together.
“It’s a good addition, another one who can help on the grass with the players.
“He’ll have respect for them, they’ll respect him and he has got a lot to add to our coaching unit.”
Whitehead joined United as a trainee and made his debut in 2000, going on to score ten goals in 136 games.
His performances earned him a transfer to Sunderland in 2004 and he won promotion to the Premier League in his first season, later becoming captain under Roy Keane.
Huds confirmed in this evening's presser that a new member of coaching staff has now been appointed.
— Cardiff City FC (@CardiffCityFC) November 2, 2022
"We've brought in Dean Whitehead. He's a very good coach and a very good human being.
"I didn't want to rush into a decision. Dean has a lot to add to our coaching unit." pic.twitter.com/Oq7KPknuyJ
After five years at the Stadium of Light, he moved to Stoke City and reached the FA Cup final in 2011, before going on to play for Middlesbrough and Huddersfield Town.
Whitehead gained promotion to the Premier League for the second time, with the Terriers in 2017, retiring the following season.
His coaching career first took him to Shrewsbury Town under former U’s teammate Sam Ricketts, but he left in 2020.
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