Chelsea loanee Omari Kellyman helped Cardiff City secure bragging rights over Wrexham this week.
On Tuesday night, Cardiff secured an impressive 2-1 away win at Welsh rivals Wrexham to reach the quarter-finals of this season’s Carabao Cup.
It goes down as a small cup shock because Cardiff sit third in League One, while Wrexham are mid-table in the Championship.
Like always, Chelsea have several youngsters playing their football out on loan this season, including 20-year-old attacker Omari Kellyman.
After moving to Stamford Bridge for £19m (BBC) from Aston Villa in 2024, last year’s debut season with Chelsea was wrecked by injury problems, meaning he’s yet to make his first-team debut for the Blues. Therefore, it’s great to see the left-footed playmaker start to play regularly as he develops his game at Cardiff.
Cardiff City's Omari Kellyman dribbling against Wrexham in a Carabao Cup tie.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Kellyman, who started on the right wing for Cardiff, tormented Wrexham last night when he was on the pitch. As a result, he received glowing praise from the Welsh media for his performance.
Wales Online wrote: “Omari Kellyman – 8/10. Arguably his best game in a City shirt. His low shot resulted in a [Yousef] Salech tap-in in the first half, while he tested Callum Burton with a shot to the near-post, too. Like Rubin [Colwill], showed some really nice moments with his feet as well.”
Cardiff City players in a huddle before facing Wrexham in the Carabao Cup.
Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images
Kellyman looked extremely effective cutting infield from the wing against Wrexham, putting in the type of display that suggests he’s too talented to be playing in League One. It feels like a giant opportunity for him to get fit and be part of a promotion-winning side, though.
Chelsea must have been impressed by what they saw from their loaned-out youngster, who’s got the versatility to play in wide areas or as a central number 10.
We’ll certainly be keeping a close eye to see how he performs for the rest of the 2025-26 season in Cardiff colours. Of course, he’s still got a long way to go to live up to his £19m transfer value. Even though Villa never wanted to sell Kellyman last year, it looks like they’ve got the better end of the deal right now.
Omari Kellyman stats vs Wrexham
Kellyman, who played the opening 45 minutes, put in an eye-catching cup display against Wrexham.
Here is a look at the Cardiff star’s individual stats from the match via FOTMOB:
Minutes played – 45
Goals – 0
Assists – 0
Total shots – 4
Chances created – 2
Accurate passes – 11/16 (69%)
Touches – 35
Touches in opposition box – 6
Successful dribbles – 2/3 (67%)
Accurate crosses – 1/3 (33%)
Was fouled – 1
Tackles – 1
Ground duels won – 4/9 (44%)
Match rating – 7.0
Although we still have doubts about whether Kellyman can carve out a long-term future for himself at Chelsea, he can definitely get his career back on track with Cardiff because it looks like a great fit.