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Glen Williams

Cardiff City told to go 'all out' to sign Aaron Ramsey as doubts cast over his future in Nice

Cardiff City should go "all out" to sign Wales captain Aaron Ramsey this summer, believes former Bluebirds striker and former team-mate Robert Earnshaw.

Ramsey, 32, sees his contract at Nice expire at the end of the month. However, it is understood he has played enough games for the French club this season to trigger a one-year extension clause.

However, nothing has yet been announced pertaining to where Ramsey will play his football next season and while on Wales duty on Monday he cast doubt over where his future lies.

READ MORE: Aaron Ramsey addresses his future, Cardiff City 'noise' and the main factor that will decide future

When he was asked to clarify his situation, Ramsey said: "I'm not sure what my future is at the moment. The most important thing is for me to focus on these games (against Armenia and Turkey).

"We will find out in a few weeks' time, when everything has settled down a bit. My full focus is on Friday (against Armenia). I'll have to keep you guys [the press] waiting a bit longer."

Asked directly about whether a return to Cardiff City was on the cards, the midfielder replied: "There's always rumours going around, isn't there? There is always that bit of noise."

Ramsey did say the most difficult thing about playing in Nice was being away from his wife and children. Indeed, there appears to be a number of options on the table, including haggling for a longer contract on the Cote d'Azur in order to move his family out there, getting a new gig elsewhere or even returning to Cardiff to be with his nearest and dearest with relatively little upheaval.

It will all come to a head in the coming weeks, with Cardiff supporters no doubt on tenterhooks as they await Ramsey's decision, much like they awaited Gareth Bale's last summer.

But ex-Cardiff striker Earnshaw, a former Wales team-mate of Ramsey's, believes the Bluebirds should capitalise on the uncertainty and swoop for the midfielder's signature.

"Cardiff City should absolutely try and get him," Earnshaw told the BBC.

"He is a great, great player. I've played with him, so I know his qualities and who he is, he would contribute to Cardiff City. I think it would be an amazing move, but it's got to be a decision for him and his family.

"I know, being another Caerphilly boy, that he is, his decision is going to be very personal, because of the stage of the career he is at. But a Cardiff City move would be brilliant.

"I think they should absolutely go all out, because No.1, he is brilliant and would help the club. No.2, he is brilliant. No.3, how beautiful it is that he would come full circle, kind of like I did, come back to Cardiff City after being away for so long and enjoy being at home at Cardiff City."

Earnshaw sympathises with Ramsey's position, too. Ramsey said that his next move will be centred around bringing his family back together permanently, and Earnshaw appreciates that priorities change as players move through their careers.

Earnshaw himself played in Tel Aviv, Toronto, Chicago and Vancouver before moving into coaching in Canada and California. While he is glad he made those moves, he understands why Ramsey's next decision will have the family at the forefront of his mind.

"I have been in that position. I pretty much spent 10 years outside of the UK playing and coaching, I've travelled a lot and I know how he's feeling," he added.

"I'm glad he's gone out of the UK and played and gone to different teams. But right now, for him, it's going to be a personal decision. If I were him, I'd pick the right place. He's 32 now, he needs to enjoy his football, but also he needs to be with his family, I think he knows that.

"He's had a year of playing abroad, his family is not with him all the time. That's one of the most difficult things that I had to deal with, my boy was in the UK and I was out in America and Canada, it's so, so difficult. It's going to be a big decision, a big few weeks.

"I think he has pretty much made up his mind."

Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman last week said he and new manager Erol Bulut had a few announcements lined up and an "exciting" signing which "would be regarded very positively by fans" is on its way.

That came after he boldly predicted that Cardiff, who have sold around 12,000 season tickets, would max out their allocation of 18,000 with the announcements he had to make in the coming weeks.

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