Cardiff City manager Neil Harris has responded to recent criticism aimed at the Bluebirds over a transfer offer for Crewe Alexandra defender Perry Ng and revealed he is a player they have been monitoring for a while.

The Bluebirds are aiming to add some extra numbers to their squad during the rest of the month as they aim to turn their campaign around after the defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday made it four successive defeats. That has seen pressure rise on Harris and resulted in speculation over his potential long-term future.

One player that Cardiff have been heavily linked with so far this window is Ng and the Bluebirds have already reportedly seen an offer knocked back by the League One side for the defender.

Indeed, the bid that was made by Harris’ side has been labelled as ‘disgusting’ by Crewe manager David Artell, who also admitted they are prepared to run down the 24-year-old’s contract.

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Speaking to Wales online following the Bluebirds’ defeat against Nottingham Forest, Harris responded to the criticism over the offer for Ng, but was keen to keep his full thoughts in check on the situation. While he also revealed that they have been monitoring the defender for some time.

He said: "It's always going to be about opinions, isn't it? I don't need to respond to that comment, from club to club.

"It's a player we are aware of and have looked at for a period of time, but that's as much as I'm willing to say on that."

The verdict

This is a difficult period for the Bluebirds both in terms of their form and their conduct in terms of transfers. Cardiff need to get some extra quality through the door this month to get their campaign back on track. However, the knockback that Crewe have given them for Ng makes it a tough challenge to try and sign the 24-year-old now.

Harris tried his best to defuse the situation here when asked about Artell’s comments. However, it still seems like the Bluebirds have a long way to go in terms of matching what the League One club believes the defender is worth. Ng is a quality player and his contract situation means there is likely to other clubs interested in him.

It will be interesting to see if Cardiff does go in with another potential offer for the 24-year-old this month, and if they do whether Crewe decide they want to reject that as well and just look to keep hold of him until the end of his deal in the summer.