Cunningham is in Cardiff’s sights if Bennett heads out
CARDIFF City boss Neil Warnock is eyeing up Preston captain Greg Cunningham as a potential replacement for Fulham target Joe Bennett.
Sources in Lancashire say Warnock has admired 26-year-old Cunningham for some time and is ready to make his move if Bennett chooses to leave for Craven Cottage.
Warnock says the issue of whether Bennett stays or goes is entirely in the hands of the player himself.
Fulham have matched a release clause in Bennett’s Bluebirds contract and it is down to the former England under-21 international to determine his own future.
However, Championship tabletoppers Cardiff are not prepared to let Bennett leave for London without signing a direct like-for-like left-back replacement.
The man Warnock is said to be keen to land is Cunningham, who has won four caps for the Republic of Ireland, and who he has been linked with before.
The former Manchester City youngster made two cup appearances for the Sky Blues, before ending up at Deepdale via Leicester, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City.
Cunningham, Preston’s player of the year in his first season at the club, was rewarded with a new contract that takes him through to 2019 and was also handed the captaincy this summer.
Given Cunningham is highly rated by the Preston hierarchy, it would take the Bluebirds a sevenfigure sum to prise him away from Deepdale.
But Cardiff would net a slightly bigger fee from Fulham for Bennett and owner Vincent Tan has sanctioned the move for much of that money to go straight into signing a replacement left-back.
Ironically, it is former Bluebirds chief Peter Ridsdale – the man who brought Tan to Cardiff in the first place –who acts as Preston’s football advisor these days, so he will be involved in any transfer deal.
Cunningham appeared in 39 of Preston’s 46 league fixtures last season, helping the side to an impressive 11th-place, finishing above the Bluebirds on goal difference.
But he injured his knee during Preston’s loss to Derby on Tuesday night, the same evening Warnock’s Bluebirds beat Sheffield United 2-0 to soar to the top of the Championship.
The left-back landed awkwardly after jumping for a header, but Preston boss Alex Neil is optimistic the injury is not too bad.
“I think he’s just hyper-extended his knee,” said Neil. “When he comes down his knee bends backwards.
“Greg’s an absolute warrior though.
“He puts his body through the wringer day-in, day-out and we’re hoping he will be OK.”
Meanwhile, Neil Etheridge insists he is still expecting a fiercely-competitive battle to continue as Cardiff City’s first-choice goalkeeper this season, despite his impressive start to the new season.
Aside from Cardiff’s extra-time win over Portsmouth, Etheridge has so far been preferred ahead of Brian Murphy by boss Neil Warnock, with fellow summer arrival Lee Camp currently sidelined after undergoing an operation earlier in the summer.
His brilliant form has led to speculation about what role the injured Camp will play in the team once he returns to fitness, but Etheridge insists he faces a real battle to keep his place between the sticks, despite proving himself to be a key part in a defence that has not yet been breached so far this season.
Speaking after the win over Sheffield United, he said: “The gaffer made it clear that there’s no out-and-out number one.
“It’s very unfortunate for Lee to have another operation and me and him are extremely close off the pitch and he’ll be even more competitive as soon as he gets back to full fitness.”