Adam Matthews

[SA Gunner]

According to reports, it seems like we as well as United in for the 17 year old Cardiff fullback. No bid has been made though.

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Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale admits that Manchester United and Arsenal are interested in Adam Matthews but no bid has yet been lodged.

The Bluebirds chief expressed a desire to keep hold of the club's prized assets this month with manager Dave Jones eager to bolster his playing staff in January in a bid to sustain their promotion push.

The Championship side have a rich history in developing young players with the likes of Joe Ledley, Chris Gunter and Aaron Ramsey all coming through the ranks in recent years.

Like Ramsey before him, Matthews is held in high regard at the Cardiff City Stadium with the 17-year-old defender appearing 17 times, 14 of them starts, in the league so far this season.

The youngster's performances have not gone unnoticed and United and Arsenal look set to battle it out for Matthews just as they did for Ramsey 18 months ago, before he opted to sign for the Gunners

"We have had two or three enquiries and I know Manchester United and Arsenal are interested in the lad," Ridsdale told WalesOnline.

"But there is no agreement with any club, verbal or otherwise. We want Adam to stay with Cardiff and that's what we are hoping will happen.

Strengthen squad
"Our aim is to strengthen the squad and we are working on a list of players Dave Jones has provided.

"Hopefully, we can bring a new signing in this week, in time for the Blackpool match. That's what we are working towards.

"There have been verbal enquiries about two other Cardiff players, but no formal offers for anybody.

"We don't want to let any key players go."

However Cardiff have suffered a blow following news that possible loan target Fabian Delph will not be allowed to leave Aston Villa.

Anyone seen the youngster in action at all?

 

[asajoseph]

Not I, but I've heard lots of gossip that it's United who might win this one.

From what I recall, Cardiff felt pretty hard done-by in the Ramsey deal, saying they didn't get enough money or should have engineered a loan-back deal, and I wonder if it might have any influence on the negotiations this time around.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

Didn't Ramsey have a buy-out clause in his contract? That's how I remember it, at least. United, Arsenal (and Liverpool?) all activated it and then it was up to the lad to choose destination. Perhaps they were annoyed that we didn't loan him back to them, though. I think that was what United would have done.

Anyway - isn't Matthews playing as a rightback? That's a position we need to fill with some up-and-coming talent as fast as we can. We've got no one coming through there and Sagna and Eboue will both be 27 towards the end of this season.

 

[Timleaf]

Saw him in the flesh earlier this season. Didn't realise he was 17, but he looked good when I saw him.

 

[asajoseph]

I don't recall him having a specific buyout clause, Klaus, but I do remember that us Utd and Everton all tabled acceptable offers.

I don't think it's so much the club that were aggrieved, rather some of the fans - thought he'd gone for much too little (compared to Walcott, for example), though if there was a buyout, that would explain it.

 

[Klaus Daimler]

I'm almost sure there was a buy-out clause because I remember reading that Cardiff were trying to convince him to join United instead, as Ferguson would have loaned him back to them for a season. That's also why they couldn't get more money for him, I think. They probably didn't expect him to become hot property so soon.

 

[-vapour-]

Why do Manchester United need another young fullback, I thought those twins were supposed to be the next Cafu and Roberto Carlos?

 

[Klaus Daimler]

Even if they were (and I don't think they are) you just need to consider the ages of Wes Brown and Gary Neville as well as the blatant lack of quality in John O'Shea. They've got no squad depth at all as soon as the dinosaurs are calling it a day.

 

[Pepe LeFrits]

Old school name. Let's get him.

 

[SA Gunner]

Hopefully he is a right fullback, we have enough left players at the moment.

 

[Gooner_Stu]

Do you think Man Utd will use Gary Neville to sell their club to him, just like with Ramsey.

 

[outlaw_member]

A knowledgeable Cardiff City fan had the following to say about him.

"Are Arsenal trying to steal another one of our youngsters?

He is a very promising player -- a little too weak, and his positioning isn't the best -- but he's only seventeen. He's good on the ball, has decent pace, and can pass pretty well too.

Leave him alone!"

To which I replied, better Arsenal than Tottenham, eh?

"Definitely," he said.

 

[Captain]

I'm almost sure there was a buy-out clause because I remember reading that Cardiff were trying to convince him to join United instead, as Ferguson would have loaned him back to them for a season. That's also why they couldn't get more money for him, I think. They probably didn't expect him to become hot property so soon.

They set a price of £5M and said that any team who met it could have him. Not really a clause.

 

[Meatwad]

he had recently signed a new contract and supposedly there was a buyout clause of 5m (you can't really know beyond "rumored to be" because we don't see their contracts). and that makes sense because with the number of top clubs that were interested in him they could have easily gotten more than 5m by playing one off the other. the only variation was who would loan him back to them after agreeing to pay 5m.

 

[Glovegun]

Talented kid but I see Sagna as a nailed-on fixture there for another 5 years minimum.

 

[asajoseph]

I'm not sure about that. His final ball is pretty dreadful most of the time, there's a lot of room for improvement in that aspect of his game. If someone came along who could offer that, and provide a certain amount of defensive solidity too, who knows...

 

[Lazaq]

Sagna is being run into the ground every season since there's really no good cover for him. Eboue is ok, but can be erratic. We currently don't have any good prospects in the ranks either, with Gilbert and Hoyte looking average at best. Matthews should have a loan spell or two under his vest before seriously competing for a spot as well. I see no problems with this transfer at all, other than him being fairly expensive.

 

[SPF103]

Everything's pretty much been said. We should sign him up if we can because he looks to have a good future in a position that we're thin in with youth.

 

[Meatwad]

sagna is not being run into the ground. he's the most rested starting XI player.

 

[famous no 10]

I'm not sure about that. His final ball is pretty dreadful most of the time, there's a lot of room for improvement in that aspect of his game. If someone came along who could offer that, and provide a certain amount of defensive solidity too, who knows...

Got to agree with that...it's a shame because other than that Sagna is just about the best RB we've had in the past 20 years or more, imo...but he just can't cross the ****ing ball.