The future of Joe Ledley

For those who maybe don’t know, Joe Ledley is one of the best and top-rated youngster in Coca Cola Championship. Also, Cardiff’s midfielder is reportedly the target of several Premier League outfits. He is only 21, has been in Cardiff since he was 9, he is considered a divinity in the club, and these days, he commenced discussing the terms of the new contract with his beloved club. Running contract is set to expire in the summer of 2010.

Is there yet another fooling around with the future of young and talented player from Coca Cola Championship in store for us? Is Ledley going to be sold in January, despite Cardiff chairman Peter Risdale’s announcements of the new contract offer for this talented youngster? Are Cardiff only playing tough with these claims while weighing the right offer received? Will this story be the same as with David Nugent, Gareth Bale or Aaron Ramsey – that all of the talents end up being sold out for hefty money regardless of their parent club’s talks about “investing in the future”, “keeping the team close together” or “club’s ambitions being tightly connected with that particular player”?

At the end, just like it had happened many times before, it all comes to the bidding just like on e-Bay. That bidding for Ledley failed at the start of the season. This summer, first went on without having the interested sides to buy him, although we heard a lot of talks the young Welshman was ready for a move to Premiership. Then, in the last moment, Everton and Stoke City came on knocking on the last day of the transfer window offering 6 million pounds for the boy. Both of the offers were rejected, but we found out that the two interested parties haven’t given up on the lad. Everton manager, David Moyes, was at the Turf Moore in Burnley watching the game Burnley – Cardiff (2-2), and guess why… we are expecting the new offer in January and we also expect Stoke City to do the same thing. Other interested parties without any offers made for now are Manchester City, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion.

At the same time, Ledley’s agent, David Baldwin said that Joe was going nowhere in January, that he was going to do his contract so that he could leave in 2010 on a free transfer from Cardiff, and he also denied that there were no talks held about the new contract.

Game is moving on, Ledley is playing better and better, he made it to the skipper this season, at the same time marking the number of 24 appearances for Wales national team.

If the right price comes along (and it’s getting closer) we don’t doubt that Cardiff will sell the skipper and collect the money they need to survive. In the times of the global crisis, when hefty transfers are becoming rare, that money would supply enough of resources for the Blue Birds, just like it did after selling Aaron Ramsey, Michael Chopra or Cameron Jerome. Skillful surviving policy of selling the best players will go on and it still won’t hurt their title bids and we have to give Cardiff credit for doing such a balanced functioning. In example, Jerome was sold in the summer of 2006 to Birmingham for 4 mill pounds, Chopra went to Sunderland for 5 mill in the summer of 2007, and Ramsey to Arsenal this summer for the amount of 4.8 million pounds. Interestingly enough their expenditures are best explained on the example of their top-scorer and one of the best players in the league, Ross McCormack, who came from Motherwell for mere 120.000 pounds.

And finally, trust no one of the previously mentioned people, Joe Ledley will be sold to the highest bidder which could easily happen this January or in the summer. And that is it…

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