Cardiff City have seen an improved offer of around £250,000 turned down by League One Crewe Alexandra for Perry Ng who are now thought to be willing to allow his contract to run down and leave for free in the summer.

The Bluebirds have been consistently linked with a potential move for Ng throughout the January window so far, and Neil Harris’ side already had an offer emphatically rejected by Crewe for the defender. The League One side’s manager David Artell had blasted Cardiff for their first offer which he labelled as ‘disgusting.’

Harris responded to those comments and revealed that Ng has been a player that the Bluebirds have kept an eye on for a while. The 24-year-old has emerged as one of the best performing defenders outside of the Championship over the last few seasons. Given he is entering the last few months of his deal it was always going to be a challenge for Crewe to keep hold of him.

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It has now emerged however that Crewe are fully prepared to allow him to leave on a free transfer in the summer, with Artell committed to keeping hold of him for the rest of the campaign. That comes after they turned down Cardiff’s £250,000 offer that included a lot of potential add-ons, as per the Daily Mail.

The verdict

This is a major blow for Cardiff’s transfer plans and it seemed like Ng was a player that they could manage to sign this month given his contract situation. The 24-year-old would have been an ideal addition to the squad given he has been excellent going forwards with 1.1 shots, 0.9 key passes and 1.1 successful dribbles per game this term, as well as solid at the back with 2.7 tackles per match (Sofascore).

However, it now seems that Cardiff will have concentrate on other targets and it is crucial that they do manage to strengthen in the full-back positions. It seems like their initial offer for Ng frustrated Crewe to the point where they have decided to just risk losing him on a free transfer.

Harris’ side could well regret that initial offer if the defender goes onto sign for a rival this summer and develops into a real asset in the Championship. This definitely feels like a transfer that could have gone a different way had the Bluebirds gone about things in a different fashion.