Cardiff City's Ledley Saga Finally Ending ?

Could the longest transfer saga in Bluebirds history finally be coming to a close this week? It seems so with Stoke Citty emerging as the frontrunners to clinch the signing of Joe Ledley, possibly by the end of the week.

A host of clubs have courted the Welsh International, with Celtic, Fulham, Roma, Galatasaray, Rangers, Blackburn and Wigan Athletic amongst the most strongly linked. However, it is Stoke manager Tony Pulis who has Ledley firmly in his sights and expects a deal to be closed immintently.

Cardiff City offered a final 'take-it-or-leave-it' contract to Joe, but it seems he will move on and we would always struggle to compete with the other interested parties in terms of wages.

Ledley has thought long and hard about this move, seemingly for years. We were told the Bluebirds would not allow him to run his contract down, but that is what happened after a £6.5m bid, also from Stoke was turned down.

A move to the Premiership is preferable for the player, and Cardiff City as we will only receive a compensation fee if he remains within our league structure. That said, a figure of £1m is the likely outcome - well below his market value but representative of previous tribunals. That Ledley is vastly experienced both at club and Country level will have an impact, but is unlikely to raise serious money.

The longer this drags on, the more uncertainty we face regarding our own transfer dealings. A conclusion is needed now for all parties, and if we need to find a replacement for Ledley, I;'d ratehr we did it sooner while all options are available to us.

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