Cardiff City boss Mick McCarthy has confirmed to Wales Online that Marley Watkins will not be staying with the club for the long term. 

The former Bristol City man joined the Bluebirds this summer on a short term contract till the end of this month and had appeared to have done his chances of earning a long term deal no harm when he scored twice on debut against Sutton United in the Carabao Cup recently.

However it now appears that the 30-year-old is set to head elsewhere in search of his next club, with it having been made clear that he no longer has a future in South Wales.

Now, speaking recently, McCarthy has confirmed the news as he stated the following on the situation:

"I've decided Marley Watkins won't be staying with us and we will be using our youngsters.

"Mark Harris, Rubin Colwill, Chanka Zimba if he gets there, Isaak Davies when he gets back and the lads we have got here. And I'm happy with them."

Watkins boasts a wealth of Football League experience and is sure to not be short of offers as he seeks to find a new home for himself after being let go by Bristol City over the summer.

Meanwhile, the Bluebirds will be back in action this weekend as they take on Millwall at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The Verdict 

Watkins would have certainly been a good signing on paper for Cardiff, but it is clear that they are wanting to go in a different direction from now on, with youth at the forefront of what they want to do moving forwards.

Signing a 30-year-old who would likely play ahead of some of your most talented youngsters wouldn't make a lot of sense, so overall the feeling will be that McCarthy has done the right thing.

The player certainly made a good impact in the short time that he was in South Wales, however it must be stressed that the manager himself did brand it as just a trial period.

Cardiff will now be looking to move on from this saga and it will be interesting to see which of their youngsters can stake a claim for a regular spot in the team.