Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy(Image: Getty Images)
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Cardiff City have been forced to move on from a planned coaching appointment after visa issues scuppered the move, Brian Barry-Murphy has revealed.
The Bluebirds have been without a dedicated first-team goalkeeping coach since Gavin Ward's departure at the end of last season, with Barry-Murphy looking to reshape his backroom staff following promotion to the Championship.
WalesOnline revealed in July that Cardiff were hoping to appoint Manchester City academy coach Imanol Etxeberria as their new goalkeeping coach, with the Spaniard understood to have been lined up to join Barry-Murphy's coaching staff.
Indeed, he was even spotted at pre-season matches, with it looking like a formality that he would link back up with Barry-Murphy and assistant Lee Riley, having worked with them in Manchester.
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However, Etxeberria's move has now not been possible because of visa issues, with Barry-Murphy confirming that Cardiff will instead have to make a new appointment.
Asked about the situation after supporters noticed the absence of a visible goalkeeper coach on matchdays, Barry-Murphy said: "We had an appointment imminent that hasn't been possible due to visa issues."
Imanol Etxeberria(Image: LinkedIn/Imanol Etxeberria)
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The Cardiff boss said the club had been reluctant to rush into another appointment immediately, but confirmed a new coach will be in place in the coming weeks. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community.
"So, a bit like recruitment, we didn't want to rush into anything off the back of that, but in the window of that week when we break up, we'll have a new person in place," he said.
Asked to confirm whether Cardiff would have a new goalkeeping coach, Barry-Murphy replied: "We will have, yeah."
Etxeberria was identified as the preferred candidate following an extensive search for Ward's replacement. The former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper had been working within Manchester City's academy structure and was set to become another member of Cardiff's backroom staff with links to the Premier League champions.
Earlier in the recruitment process, Cardiff had also identified Manchester City academy goalkeeping coach Max Johnson as a leading candidate for the role before their focus switched to Etxeberria.
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Etxeberria has considerable senior coaching experience, having previously worked with Athletic Bilbao and Luton Town before joining Manchester City's academy setup.
However, it now appears Cardiff will have to look elsewhere after the intended appointment was prevented by the visa situation.
With the under-21s and under-18s head coach positions still vacant, there are still three key appointments which need to be made behind the scenes.