I wanted Reid to stay – but he was set on move, says Warnock
NEIL Warnock has revealed Bobby Reid and his agent engineered a deadline day move away from Cardiff City after being told the player’s heart was set on Fulham.
The Bluebirds boss revealed that Reid’s agent contacted him three weeks ago to sound him out over potentially selling him to another club during the transfer window.
Warnock rebuffed any suggestion he wanted to sell the forward, indeed insisting he had planned to build his promotion bid around him this season.
However, both Bristol City and Fulham expressed an interest in signing him and once Warnock learned of Reid’s desire to leave, he had no option but to let him go.
“There’s bound to be consternation, you can’t blame fans for that,” Warnock conceded.
“It was about three weeks ago that I had a phone call from his agent saying ‘hypothetically if we got a big bid for him would you consider it?’
“I said ‘no, not at all. I am building a team around him this year unless you come with £20million or something silly like that.’ That was it as far I was concerned.
“Then about 10 days/two weeks later he rang me again and said had I’d considered it. So I knew there was something below the surface.
“You wait until you see what’s coming to the top and as it’s turned out it’s Fulham he’s set his heart on going to.
“You know what my teams are built on. If a player thinks it’s better elsewhere, you can’t blame them. If he thinks he’s going to get more incentive and opportunity there.
“I’ve always said if anyone wants to leave my club they always can. I’m not going to change now at my age.
“I was very disappointed, but agents are agents. Unless a player moves they don’t get paid, do they?
“It’s one of those things, I was very disappointed with the way the agent went about it. But I could see Bobby was below par this pre-season since the conversation with the agent. I’m sure he’ll do well for them, it’s a competitor, but it’s up to us to do better ourselves.”
Reid joined Fulham on an initial season-long loan, which it is understood will eventually become a permanent move. Warnock revealed the deal will see Cardiff make a £1.5million profit on their £8.5m outlay last summer.
Reid’s departure evoked a backlash from fans on social media, but Warnock, who also said he is happier with the unity of the squad now, is determined to prove his side is good enough to compete at the top.
“Unfortunately fans never know the full story. You can’t say anything about any deal really and you’ve just got to bite your tongue. It’s gone now and we’ve got to find other people where we want to be,” he added.
“If you look at the players we’ve lost – (Aron) Gunnarsson, (Bruno) Manga, (Kenneth) Zohore – and people will write us off.
“It’s not far off a rebuild with all the players that have gone. We will never let the individuals upset the apple cart, we’re back and our season starts tomorrow.”
Warnock said he was looking forward to playing in front of the home supporters.
He said: “The fans have been amazing, a record number away from home. We are looking forward to it.
“We like playing at home. The pitch has had a bit of a problem but we hope that can be put right. The volume level at home never ceases to amaze me.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Premiership club Hearts have confirmed that Loic Damour has also joined a four-year deal.
The midfielder made just two appearances for the Bluebirds in the top flight last season, both as a substitute.