Marley Watkins has revealed that a potential permanent switch to Cardiff City this summer was blocked by the club’s chairman following his return to Aberdeen.
The attacker had been on trial with Cardiff during the pre-season period as he searched for a new potential home following his departure from Bristol City at the end of last season.
Mick McCarthy had been impressed enough with what he saw of Watkins to hand him a short-term contract until the end of August. That enabled Watkins to feature for the Bluebirds in the League Cup tie against Sutton United.
The 30-year-old managed to fire home a brace for Cardiff during their 3-2 win against Sutton United, but that did not prove to be enough to secure him a permanent deal with the Bluebirds this summer.
Following the decision by Cardiff not to hand Watkins a permanent deal with the club, the attacker has completed his return to the Scottish Premier League with Aberdeen.
That comes after he had spent time out on loan with them during the 2020/21 campaign scoring twice in nine league appearances.
Speaking to the media (via Wales Online) following his return to Aberdeen, Watkins revealed that a potential permanent move to Cardiff had been blocked by the club’s chairman.
He said: “I got in at Cardiff but the chairman at Cardiff blocked it, and then Aberdeen were still interested, luckily, so I’m here now and I can’t wait to get going – it’s a great club.”
The verdict
This is real case of one of those what if situations in the transfer market for Cardiff now.
Watkins could not have done much more to impress the Bluebirds and earn himself a permanent deal until at least the end of the campaign, with his performances in pre-season and then in the League Cup against Sutton.
When the 30-year-old fired home the brace against Sutton it seemed highly likely that Cardiff would want to secure his services on a permanent contract.
However, that proved not to be the case but by these comments, it seems that McCarthy might have been willing to keep him around the dressing room.
You can understand Cardiff needing to be careful with their financial resources this summer and the Bluebirds have already managed to strengthen the squad with some good signings during the window.
This one still seems to be a bit of a potential mistake though because Watkins would have added some vital extra depth to their attacking options.
It is not a loss that Cardiff can not cope with but you just feel that perhaps the Bluebirds missed a trick here by blocking a deal for Watkins.