Cardiff City manager Steve Morison says Gareth Bale will have to make the first move if he is to join the Bluebirds in the summer.

Bale looks set to leave Real Madrid when his contract with the Spanish giants in the summer, and has speculation has emerged linking him with a move to hometown club Cardiff.

Speaking recently, Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman admitted that the club would be ready to talk to Bale, if he made it clear he wanted to play in the Welsh capital from next season.

Now it seems as though Morison himself would be keen to see Bale as part of his squad from the start of the 2022/23 campaign, but only if the winger makes it clear he wants to join the club.

Speaking about the possibility of Cardiff signing Bale for the coming campaign, Morison told Wales Online"Who wouldn't be? Is there anyone who wouldn't be a willing listener?!

"I'm not going to go and get Gareth Bale's number and ring him and say, 'Oh, by the way, do you want to come and join Cardiff?'

"It's an absolute no-brainer. It would be great. It would be a great boost for everybody. But if it did happen, he would have to come and be part of the change. He would have to come and fit in and buy into it.

"I'm sure if anything like that was going to happen then me and him would have a chat because there would be a lot to talk about. One of them would be making sure [the press] don't find out about it!"

Cardiff currently sit 19th in the Championship, safe from relegation but long since out of the play-off chase going into the final day of the season on Saturday, when they travel to Pride Park to face Derby County.

The Verdict

This does seem like a fair enough stance for Cardiff and Morison to take over Bale.

You only need to look at what Bale continues to do for Wales in particular, to see how big a boost it would be for Cardiff to have him in their squad for next season.

However, even on a free transfer, the size of Bale's wage given his profile, means he would surely be out of reach for Cardiff or any Championship club under normal circumstance.

As a result, you do get the feeling it would need Bale to make the first move, indicating the potential for a compromise, for a deal such as this to be able to happen.