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CARDIFF CITY have turned down an extraordinary £1m plus bid from a top Premiership club for their 16-year-old Welsh starlet Aaron Ramsey, the Western Mail has learned.
Bluebirds chairman Peter Ridsdale described the offer, which has come from a leading London side, as unprecedented in the history of British football.
Ramsey has only one minute of senior first team action behind him, when he came on as a substitute against Hull to break John Toshack’s record as the youngest player in history to play for Cardiff.
But the precocious talent of the skilful midfielder has been noted by Premiership clubs nationwide and Ridsdale confirmed a seven-figure bid had been made.
It is understood the offer, thought to have come from either Arsenal or Tottenham, came before Cardiff rejected a £1m Everton bid for their teenage right-back Chris Gunter.
It is unheard of in British football for clubs to bid for an unproven player like this, but it underlines how highly Ramsey’s potential is rated in the game.
Ridsdale points out that when a then 16-year-old Theo Walcott left Southampton in a big money move to join Arsenal, he had half a season of Championship action behind him.
Wales youth guru Brian Flynn, who has picked Ramsey as his Welsh U17s captain, describes his Cardiff starlet as the best young player of his type anywhere in the United Kingdom. Making an analogy, Flynn describes Ramsey as “Steven Gerrard-like” in the way he bombs forward form midfield.
Confirming the £1m bid, Ridsdale said, “We have had a seven-figure offer for Aaron, but we had absolutely no hesitation in turning it down.
“The trouble with offers like these for such a young player is that while the headline numbers are impressive, they tend to be structured in such a way that you don’t get the full amount until five years’ time.
“That said, the fact that a leading club has come in with such a big bid for Aaron says everything about him, really.
“He is a young player with huge promise, but our aim is to see that promise and potential fulfilled at Cardiff City.
“We have an academy system in place here which is designed to get the best young players around to play for us, not to sell them.
“At some time, we appreciate a knockout blow may be delivered in terms of a bid we believe we cannot turn down for Aaron.
“But even though this is a seven-figure offer, we still don’t believe it is high enough at this moment in time for a player like Aaron.”
Ridsdale continued, “I can’t be 100 per cent certain about this, but in my many years in football I think this is a pretty unique offer.
“Aaron has next to no first team football behind him at this moment in time. People will talk about Arsenal buying Walcott from Southampton.
“But he had half a season of regular first team football in his locker by the time that particular bid came in. Aaron is by and large still a youth team player, although clearly he is a fundamental part of Dave Jones’ plans for the future.”
Ridsdale would not disclose which club had made the bid, but it is not Chelsea.
Under Jose Mourinho’s guidance, the Blues actively look at young players in Britain aged between 10 and 16 to seek out the best talent.
Ramsey shone in London earlier this season when he played a starring, and scoring, role as Cardiff narrowly lost to Arsenal 3-2 in the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals.
He has also played impressively for Wales U17s in competitive games against Holland, Turkey and Belarus.
Asked about turning down more than £2m worth of bids for Bluebirds teen stars in the space of a few days, Ridsdale said, “I’m desperately trying to put a squad together to demonstrate our ambition at this club.
“Ideally, we would like to see Aaron and Chris Gunter play for many years in a Cardiff City shirt.”
Taken from IC Wales |
Well I am going to start with Aaron Ramsey. When I was about 12 I played with him at the Urdd and Cardiff and for a player of my age to be tagged as 'Steven Gerrard like' has put a great deal of pressure on him to succeed.
Bryan Flynn the Wales under 21 manager has said he believes Ramsey is the next big thing for Welsh football. This boy has a lot of talent, and to sell him for £1,000,000 would be foolish as after a year of first team football, just like Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale, his valuation will shoot up into the sky, and we could get millions for him.
As for Christ Gunter, this boy is very talented and has a lot of potential. He broke into the first team this season and impressed many people, including me. I feel he has the same talent as Gareth Bale and to let him go for £1,000,000 would be terrible, as if he gets one season of first team football next year, which I think he will, just like Bale he will be worth millions.
