Cardiff City are thought to be fans of MK Dons manager Liam Manning, according to Darren Witcoop.

The Lowdown: Manning profiled

Manning has been in charge of MK Dons for just over a year now and took the club to the League One playoffs in his first season.

The 36-year-old was previously in charge of Belgian side Lommel SK and before that was the assistant manager for West Ham’s U21 side.

He likes to play a 3-4-3 system and has a 52% win record as a first-team manager, and it looks like he is of interest to Cardiff chiefs.

The Latest: Witcoop’s post

Welsh journalist Witcoop took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to share news about Cardiff’s search for a new manager.

He stated that Mark Hudson is ‘expected to be given a run of games as it stands’, but there are two managers in League One rated highly by Cardiff officials.

"Understand that MK Dons’ Liam Manning is one of them," he said.

The Verdict: Interesting

Manning enjoyed a successful first season as a first-team manager in England, with MK Dons narrowly missing out on promotion to the Championship. He has a ‘unique’ style of play that focuses on controlling possession and being aggressive when pressing.

A bit of second-season syndrome could be kicking in for Manning, though, with his side sitting in 18th with three wins from their opening nine games.

It could well be a gamble by Cardiff, then, but that risk could prove to be an inspired decision should he move to Wales and put his youthful exuberance to good use with the Bluebirds.