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Glen Williams

Cardiff City headlines as Gareth Bale transfer update issued and 'decent fee' could get striker in

Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Wednesday, March 30.

Update on Bale's future

Gareth Bale's future will be decided after Wales' World Cup play-off final against either Scotland or Ukraine, his agent has said. Quite where the Wales talisman's next club will be is a mystery, with some bookmakers even having his hometown team Cardiff City topping their odds lists.

Wales and Liverpool icon Ian Rush has had his say in recent days, believing that a move to the Bluebirds in the Championship might actually make some sense. You can read more about why Bale moving to Cardiff makes perfect sense here.

READ MORE: The appalling treatment of Gareth Bale amid vile abuse, car damage and vicious attacks

Bale proved he has still got what it takes to turn it on in the big occasions, too, netting two fantastic goals in Wales' crucial 2-1 win over Austria last Thursday in the play-off semi-final at Cardiff City Stadium. The final, though, will likely be played when his Real Madrid contract is days from running out.

And agent Jonathan Barnett has told the BBC : "We have not discussed anything yet. Once we know Wales' situation with the World Cup, we will discuss it then."

Bale, who has won 14 trophies during his nine years at the Bernabeu, towed the party line ahead of concentrating solely on Wales duty for the coming months.

"I haven't thought about that at all, since we knew we were going to be in this situation my sole focus has just been on this," Bale said last week. "Thinking about future can cause doubts I guess in your own mind, so I've not been thinking about that."

Page: Colwill is talented and powerful with a bright future

Wales boss Rob Page has waxed lyrical about Bluebirds starlet Rubin Colwill, who scored his first goal for his country on Tuesday night in a 1-1 draw with Czech Republic.

Page, who watched on as Colwill latched on to Brennan Johnson's ball after blistering run to get Wales back on terms, believes the youngster, who he described as an "intelligent No. 10", has the ability to shine all over the pitch if afforded the opportunity.

"Rubin was my wildcard for the Euros and as soon as he trained with us I could see he had ability in abundance," Page said after the draw with the Czechs.

"I wanted to expose him to those experiences in the Euros, training with the likes of Gareth (Bale), Aaron (Ramsey), Joe (Allen), Ben Davies, Chris Gunter, the senior players. I wanted him to experience what it was like at an international tournament so that it's not alien to him in future tournaments when we qualify again.

"He is a talented player. I wanted to see him as a midfielder as well as a 10. I wanted to see him as an eight, because I think he has got the attributes to be an eight, he is a big, powerful runner, like we seen in the goal he scored against Liverpool, he is a powerful runner through the pitch.

"He has got an eye for goal, he can play anywhere in the front four positions, so there is a lot going for that lad. He is a humble guy as well. He just gets on with his work and his not a minute's problem. He has got a chance."

Page certainly believes he has a big future ahead of him. "Eighteen months ago when I first clapped eyes on him, I knew he is going to have a wonderful career in the game. Absolutely," Page added.

"He has got a bright future with us for Wales as well. It's about using him when we need to. It was absolutely the right decision to start him and he proved that.

"What a wonderful asset to have. Whether it's him coming on and getting you up the pitch, scoring goals, then it's another string to his bow."

Norwich open to Hugill switch for 'decent fee'

Norwich City would only be open to letting Jordan Hugill return to Cardiff City next season if the Bluebirds tabled a "decent fee" to land the player permanently.

Hugill has enjoyed a decent start to life as a Bluebird, scoring three times and assisting twice in his 11 Bluebirds appearances since his loan move was completed two months ago.

It has led many to wonder whether he would like to return to the Welsh capital next term. We sought the insight from Canaries correspondent Connor Southwell and he said: "It's a tough one. The unknown factor is that Norwich have a different head coach in Dean Smith who will be undoubtedly hoping to have a look at Hugill in pre-season. If it is to be Championship football, then we all know the quality he has in that division and the value he could add to Norwich's promotion push.

"But they have two strikers under [Teemu] Pukki in Josh Sargent and Adam Idah who are both young and will be hoping to push on in the Championship. Given their lack of goals this year, it may well be a position that they seek to delve into the market to strengthen further.

"With that in mind, if there was a deal that could be done that allowed Hugill to return permanently to Cardiff and Norwich got a decent fee, I could see that becoming a possibility. Millwall have been long-term admirers and there will be other parties but given how Hugill has enjoyed his time in Wales, you would imagine he would be open to a return."

International Bluebirds in action

There were a number of Bluebirds in action on Tuesday night as the international break drew to a close.

Of course, there was Colwill, as mentioned above, but it was also a big night for Will Vaulks, who started his first Wales game for three years at Cardiff City Stadium.

In our player ratings, we wrote of Vaulks alongside a rating of 6/10: "Typically combative on his first Wales start for three years as evidenced by a heavy tackle early on. Was clearly desperate to impress having been out of the international picture for so long, and this performance will have gone some way to proving himself to Page. Tenacious in the middle of the park, and a real presence arriving late into the box . Clattered the post and sent a half-volley wide. Subbed."

Mark Harris was also brought on for Brennan Johnson after 81 minutes.

For Wales' under-21s, who drew 1-1 against Bulgaria at Rodney Parade, Isaak Davies played the full 90 minutes, while Eli King came on for the last five minutes of the match. Oliver Denham and George Ratcliffe were unused substitutes.

Both Joel Bagan and Mark McGuinness played the full 90 minutes for Republic of Ireland's under-21s against Sweden at their Euro Under-21s qualification game at Venue Boras Arena. More minutes for the Bluebirds defensive duo ahead of their club return.

Tommy Doyle, meanwhile, was an unused substitute in England under-21s' 3-0 win over Albania in their Euro qualifier.

On-loan duo Ciaron Brown and Gavin Whyte both featured for Northern Ireland in their 1-0 friendly defeat by Hungary.

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