It is no secret that Cardiff City will have to be extremely frugal this summer.

Chairman Mehmet Dalman has already told fans to expect the club to be relatively inactive when the transfer window opens, given how hard the club, along with most others in the Championship, have been hit by the impact of coronavirus.

But it is also well documented that the Bluebirds could potentially face something of a right-back crisis next season.

Jazz Richards is out of contract and, on the face of it, the nine remaining Championship games, if the season is to resume, will be crucial in determining whether he is asked to stay on next season.

Lee Peltier, the long-time servant, was cut from his contract back in January, while the man earmarked to succeed him, the academy's bright young hope, Cameron Coxe, has been told he can leave at the end of his current contract.

There is no question that Dion Sanderson has been something of a revelation since he joined on loan from Wolves back in January, but his impressive performances in a City shirt have drawn the attention of some Premier League clubs.

The likes of West Ham, Aston Villa, Brighton and Norwich City have all been credited with an interest in the 20-year-old and Neil Harris has one hell of a job on his hands if he is to keep hold of him next season. So if Cardiff are to buy a right-back or two this summer, it will likely set them back millions.

Cardiff will have to count the pennies this summer, of that there is no doubt, and some might say there are players already at the club who could fill that right-back berth, even as back-up if Richards is given a new deal.

Leandro Bacuna has played there, Callum Paterson was bought as a right-back in the first place of course and Curtis Nelson made his debut there. But, for me, there is one clear, obvious choice who stands out above all others.

Callum Paterson has proven too useful an asset up front to drop back to defence

Gavin Whyte split some fans during the early stages of his Bluebirds career. All told, many still sit on the fence now.

But he has all the hallmarks of someone who could be a real success at Cardiff City. A wholehearted workhorse who will leave everything out on the pitch.

Now I have been banging this drum for quite some time around the WalesOnline offices, but, to me, Whyte seems like a perfect, modern-day right-back.

If there was one gripe fans have had about the Northern Ireland international during his fledgling Bluebirds career, it's that his end product isn't good enough, he hasn't grasped chances with both hands in front of goal.

Some believe he is too defensive, indeed Neil Warnock jokingly claimed Lee Peltier would receive an England call-up if he continued to play behind Whyte, with the winger doing all the legwork to minimise the veteran defender's exposure to the pacy Championship wide men.

As a right-back, Whyte would have the engine to bomb up and down that right flank, a trait which has earned Sanderson his fair share of supporters in this corner of the world, with pace and verve.

The 24-year-old is also defensively sound, too, and could track back and keep pace with the myriad tricky wingers who currently ply their trade in the Championship.

And let's not forget his schooling as an out-and-out winger, that will certainly bear fruit when the Bluebirds utilise one of their flying counter-attacks.

Given how much better Cardiff have looked with Albert Adomah on the wing, with the mouthwatering prospect of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing due to challenge him for the right-wing spot when the season returns, perhaps it is time for City to rethink Whyte's role.

With Warnock at the helm, there was an overriding sense of caution, it is why Whyte and the diligent Junior Hoilett were the manager's first choice at the start of the campaign.

But Harris seems to favour the more attacking setup, as evidenced with his consistent selection of Adomah, Josh Murphy and the trust he has placed in Lee Tomlin.

So there is a risk Whyte would fall by the wayside if he was to be utilised only his current role. But there is a very obvious avenue at right back which should definitely be explored.

He has bags of potential and, yes, perhaps he became a little jaded, having played more games than he thought he would when he was brought in from Oxford United last summer.

But it might just be time for the reset button for him next season, a reinvention which has the potential to do wonders for the player and, importantly, the club moving forward.