Cardiff cash woe could open door for fresh Forest bid for Whittingham
CASH-STRAPPED Cardiff City could be forced to listen to offers for winger Peter Whittingham – and Nottingham Forest are poised to pounce.
The Bluebirds yesterday saw prize asset Joe Ledley head to Scotland to discuss terms with Celtic, who he is set to join for free rather than move to Stoke City, which would have earned the Welsh club around £3m.
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Peter Whittingham (left)
The out-of-contract midfielder is 23 and Cardiff would have been entitled to compensation had he moved to another Football League or Premiership side. But Fifa rules mean that he is allowed to move north of the border for nothing.
With that deal set to be finalised today, Cardiff are now desperate to raise revenue to pay off an outstanding £1.5m tax bill – and are ready to consider offers for winger Whittingham, who has already been the subject of unsuccessful bids from both Forest and Burnley.
Newly-relegated Burnley were the last to test Cardiff's resolve with a bid of £1.75m at the end of June.
Cardiff responded by upping their efforts to persuade Whittingham to sign an extension to his contract, which has one year left to run.
But, with Dave Jones' side still the subject of a transfer embargo, they could be forced to sell another prize asset – with a bid of £2m likely to be enough to force their hand.
Forest will have to move quickly to fend off Burnley's interest – but, equally, Cardiff will be keen to conclude a swift deal to pay off their debts.
Whittingham played a big role in Cardiff's charge to the Championship play-off final last season, scoring 20 goals in 41 league starts.
It was a dramatic burst of form from the former Aston Villa man who, while regarded as an important player for Cardiff, had netted only 12 league goals in two previous seasons with the Bluebirds.
Whittingham can play both on the left side or in the centre and, as a goal scoring midfielder, would fill an obvious gap in the Reds squad.
Forest continue to trail Swansea midfielder Darren Pratley, although the Swans say they are yet to receive any fresh offers for him. Aston Villa's Nicky Shorey and former Arsenal striker Jay Simpson are also targets.
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by cambs red, cambs
Sunday, July 18 2010, 4:58PM
“cant believe Forest 9/1 for championship, who makes these odds up. I wouldnt back them at 40/1. It will be another frustrating season for us, especially with no new decent signings. Who will we sign? Players no one else wants or over priced flops.”
by Tricky In London Exile, Nottingham
Friday, July 09 2010, 10:41PM
“Well this season we get to play the mightily 'ambitious' Portsmouth. Assuming they can stay in business until the time of our scheduled fixture that is... It is easy to spend someone elses' money and BD has been given more than most.”
by Rich, Burton
Friday, July 09 2010, 10:04PM
“We started last season with several new players that were going to take time to 'bed in' with the existing squad. Over the season, this Unit played football that was a joy to watch from the stands... January's Transfer window showed us all exactly what happens when you fail to maintain, support or upgrade your existing squad when you clearly need to for the final push. Billy proved beyond any doubt that he had the players and 90% of the quality required was there but the last 10% was missing and it cost us dearly when it mattered most. Therefore, we should be starting with at least the missing 10% this season so that we have the 100% required to start from the front foot, and in January add another 10% to finish the job off with 110%. That is what ambitious clubs do, they always have enough and a bit more beside's to get them over that line.... NO lame excuses for the fans this time. We either start as we mean to finish things or we don't bother at all. Do all Forest fans want to win the Championship? YES WE DO !!”
by Tricky In London Exile, Nottingham
Friday, July 09 2010, 8:53PM
“100% spot on Mickey Finn and better explained than me. And for gods sake can we get over the 'serious about promotion' campaign now. That was many years (and many more millions of ND's £s) ago now. BDs interview has just annoyed me now - but at the end of the day we have a good squad (which I am sure will be improved shortly) and a very good football manager. So come the start of the season I will behind both team and the Manager whatever. You Reds!”
by Tricky In London Exile, Nottingham
Friday, July 09 2010, 8:40PM
“BD speaks his mind but to what purpose. How does airing this on public help NFFC? How did publicly saying in January that we weren't good enough without additions help the players we were left with in terms of their motivation? Sometimes being 'right' isn't necessarily helpful if the information is handled badly and I think at times BD would be better served (as would the team) by keeping things behind closed doors. That doesn't mean you become a yes man. My point re how he answered the questions was that he stated he was 'always disappointed when any player leaves' and that he didn't know Perch had gone 'after the deal had been done'. When asked if that meant he hadn't discussed it beforehand he didn't answer the question. So I suspect it had been discussed, he knew that it was happening and left the detail with MA who then let him know when it had happened. He did not say he didn't agree with it. In any case, whatever BD says there is always a hidden (or not so hidden) agenda. I'm just not convinced it is always to the benefit of the club or that BD is as hard done by as he would like us to think.”