Bluebirds fall for Damour
HULL City have asked about signing Cardiff City star Kenneth Zohore – but have been told to forget it by Neil Warnock.
And he has rubbished the chances of the Tigers changing his mind over cashing in on his No.1 frontman.
In a move that will allay fan fears of losing such a key figure, the Bluebirds boss is adamant that not even recordbreaking amounts would be enough for him to consider the club selling last season’s top scorer.
It is understood Hull made contact with the veteran manager to ask about Zohore’s availability as the recently relegated side look to launch a bid to return to the Premier League under new boss Leonid Slutsky.
There are suggestions from Humberside that the Tigers – fresh from selling defender Harry Maguire to Leicester for £17m – have submitted a bid in the region of £6m for the 23-year-old.
And there are also claims they would be prepared to go even higher having identified Zohore as a key summer target following his breakthrough season in British football with the Bluebirds.
The Denmark Under-21 international ended the season with 12 goals and a fresh three-year contract having been rescued from the fringes by Warnock.
It is not clear whether a formal offer has been tabled by Hull, although sources close to the KCOM Stadium say they are determined to try and lure the Bluebirds to the negotiating table – and have been described as quietly confident of doing so.
But, for his part, Warnock is thought to have dismissed Hull’s enquiry by telling Tigers officials that improving their offer to £20m – which would represent a record fee in deals between second-tier clubs – still wouldn’t be enough for him to be tempted.
Warnock has made good early inroads into his summer transfer plans, landing six players including Hearts’ attacking full-back Callum Paterson and £1.6m Rotherham forward Danny Ward.
And despite being aware of the need to move on some members of the squad – with disappointing striker Rickie Lambert having had his contract terminated – Warnock will not want to lose someone so key to his plans for the coming campaign.
The 68-year-old was thought to be Cardiff City FC have confirmed the signing of French midfielder Loïc Damour, subject to international clearance.
The twenty-six year old has put pen to paper on a two-year contract with the Bluebirds, linking up with immediate effect with Neil Warnock’s men for pre-season training.
A former France youth relieved that Cardiff wasted little time in turning down a £3m offer from Sheffield Wednesday for skipper Sean Morrison and will hope there is no change in stance from the club.
Cardiff’s transfer business is overseen by a transfer committee that includes Warnock himself, as well as Executive director and CEO Ken Choo, chairman Mehmet Dalman as well as owner Vincent Tan.
Choo spoke last month of a ‘harmonious’ feel at the club over this close season after good progression on new signings, as well as new contracts for the likes of Bruno Manga and the opening of discussions over a new deal for Sol Bamba. RICKIE Lambert’s Cardiff City days are officially over after agreeing to cancel his bumper Bluebirds contract.
The former England international excited Cardiff fans when he arrived in a headline deadline day move from West Brom last summer.
Lambert signed a two-year deal that placed him among the club’s leading earners in a package reported at the time as being worth £2m.
But the 35-year-old failed to make any impact as he dealt with issues with both form and fitness, with it becoming increasingly clear he did not figure in the plans of manager Neil Warnock.
The ex-Liverpool and Southampton striker made just 13 starts following his August 2016 arrival, scoring four times, but made only a handful of appearances off the bench after December.
Warnock had made it a summer priority to move Lambert off the wage bill. international, Loïc has represented his nation at various age groups up to and including at U20 level.
His career in France and Belgium has taken him to a number of clubs in a relatively short space of time, including Strasbourg, White Star Bruxelles, Fréjus Saint-Raphaël and Bourg-Péronnas.
Choo also spelt out Tan being keen on snubbing the Owls’ approach for Morrison to underline ambitions for a push on promotion this season, saying: “It was a good offer, but what is our goal?
“Vincent was strong, saying we wanted to have a go, that we have already spent a lot of money and if we were not going to have a go he wouldn’t be here. It would have been easy to take the cheque but he is quite calm and focused and strong on what we want to do.”
It remains to be seen what kind of figure would see discussions around selling Zohore, who arrived from Odense via Belgian sister club Kortrijk in January 2016.