Cardiff City transfer headlines as Gareth Bale to Bluebirds gets backing and club keep tabs on striker target

These are your Cardiff City headlines on Friday, March 25.

Wales legend Ian Rush says it wouldn't surprise him if man of the moment Gareth Bale pitched up at Cardiff City next season.

Bale, fresh from his stunning brace against Austria in the 2-1 World Cup play-off semi-final win last night, is out of contract at Real Madrid this summer, with the chances of him staying in the Spanish capital practically zero. With the tournament in Qatar in November a tantalising carrot for the 32-year-old, a new club will need to be found come July.

Rush believes that there will be interest from the Premier League in Bale but also floated the fear that the demands of the division could be a factor in his decision-making process.

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"Gareth Bale's next club move is a crucial one," he said. "His contract is up at Madrid this summer so he’ll want to make sure he takes up the right offer if Wales are going to Qatar in December. I’m sure there’ll be interest from the Premier League but it’s a very demanding league, so will he want to put his body through that if there’s a World Cup to go to? I’m not sure.

"He’ll keep his options open and one of those offers might be Cardiff. It would not surprise me if he went there. He’s a Cardiff boy and even though they’re in the Championship I don’t think that would bother him too much. He certainly wouldn’t be going there for the money but it ticks a lot of other boxes. He’d be doing Wales proud because it’s his hometown team and it would allow him to prolong his international career if he’s playing at a less demanding level in his club career."

Cardiff are set to keep tabs on The New Saints striker Declan McManus over the