Manchester City Striker Craig Bellamy's future up in the air; set to play for The Championship side Cardiff
The out-of-favour Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy has been granted permission by the club to train with the Cardiff City team. The move gives more way to speculations that he is on his way to sign a loan deal at the Welsh club. Cardiff has also made it clear that they would love to have the services of the Welsh captain, who is not among the favourites at Manchester.
The front-man has been rumoured to be on his way to Cardiff on a 6 month loan deal. He was not included in the 25-man squad by City Manager Roberto Mancini, and now it seems certain that he would be making his way out of the club. Meanwhile, there has been interest from a few other clubs as well for the Welsh front-man. London based club Fulham and Scottish side Celtic have also shown interest in him and are believed to be sizing up a bid to sign him; they are not looking for just a loan deal.
A spokesman from Cardiff City said that there are various clubs that are in line to get the signature of Bellamy. He added that Cardiff is also interested in signing the striker, but nothing has been made official as yet. He added that the fact that their team is playing in The Championship as compared to Fulham, who are in the Premier League, would go against them. However, he said Cardiff is hopeful of getting their man.
Earlier last week, Bellamy in an emotional statement, said that if he is left out of the 25-man squad by Mancini, he may consider quitting football altogether. The City manager, meanwhile, said that the striker is free to find a new club.
Bellamy, however, later said that Cardiff may be an option for him. The striker said that an added incentive for him is his family. He said that his wife and children are based in Cardiff and he has not been living with them for the past 6 years, so a reunion may be something that can help him make a decision of staying in Cardiff.
Premier League Club Fulham, who have a new manager, Mark Hughes, have said that they would like to sign the striker. Celtic manager Neil Lennon has also claimed that they have spoken to Bellamy’s agent. There is another club from the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, who are also believed to be interested in signing Bellamy, but no concrete offer has yet been made by either of the clubs.
However, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has refrained from committing to sell the front-man to a Premier League club. He has said that the more likely option may be a club outside the Premier League, that makes Cardiff and Celtic the two likely destinations for Bellamy.
Bellamy was one of the better players for Manchester City last season, and also was on the score-sheet for his country Wales. He scored his 18th international goal in a 5-1 win again Luxembourg. He said that playing for a championship side is not something he would rule out, but there are a number of things to be finalised before he can make a commitment.
Craig Bellamy has had a rather mercurial career in England. He played some good football under Mark Hughes at Blackburn, and later moved to Liverpool. At Anfield, he had some attitude problems and had an infamous incident with former Liverpool full-back John Arne Riise. He was then signed by his former manager Mark Hughes at Manchester City where he did play a good part, but with the arrival of Roberto Mancini, his future as for now is certainly up in the air.
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