Sheffield Wednesday set for Mark McGuinness transfer blow after FA Cup tie against Newcastle United

Wales Online report the defender will be recalled by Cardiff, five months into a season-long loan. McGuinness joined the Bluebirds from Arsenal in 2021 after rising through the ranks with the Gunners.

He spent the 2020-21 campaign on loan with Ipswich Town before the Owls secured his services last summer. However, Darren Moore’s side are now set to lose the player, who won the club's Player of the Month award in November and December.

McGuiness will bolster Cardiff’s back-line in the second half of the Championship season, with the Welsh outfit facing the prospect of being involved in a relegation battle.

Last month, Cardiff boss Mark Hudson had quashed hopes that Wednesday could sign McGuinness on a permanent basis. He said in December: "I've watched Macca's games. It's something we knew when the loan was available, that he could go and play games regularly and go and play a full season, that was the idea.

"To get himself in a team and playing as well as he can and gaining more experience. I think he will maybe have played 180 games by the time he comes back to us. I'm not sure we will be discussing any kind of sale regarding Macca at the moment. That's not where we are at.

"I am buzzing that he is doing well. That's something we are keen on. That's why he went on loan. I speak to him regularly, I watch what he is doing. He is our player."