Forest to make Tomlin a permanent fixture?
LEE Tomlin’s future as a Cardiff City appears uncertain after reports emerged that Nottingham Forest will try and sign him on a permanent deal this summer.
The Bluebirds let the mercurial playmaker leave in a loan swap with Forest’s Jamie Ward on January deadline day and Tomlin has since thrived under Aitor Karanka at the City Ground.
He has scored four times and laid on three insists in a productive 13-game spell at Forest, including a Man Of The Match display in the 3-0 win over Barnsley on Tuesday night.
It sparked the news, reported by the Nottingham Post, that the east midlands club would try and sign Tomlin permanently in the upcoming summer transfer window, although the suggestion is Cardiff would look to recoup the £1.5million they paid for the 29-year-old last year (a figure which has been wrongly stated as £2.9million by many sources).
It has also been said Tomlin is keen to return to South Wales, especially if Cardiff are promoted to the Premier League and hopes to try his luck in the top flight. Whether Warnock – expected to shake up his Bluebirds once again squad if promotion is sealed – would include Tomlin as part of his plans remains to be seen.
Karanka, on the other hand, is a vocal and long term admirer of Tomlin after the pair worked together at Middlesbrough.
“I told you since he arrived here that he would have games like Barnsley, when he scored an amazing goal and when he played in the way that he did,” said the Spaniard after Tomlin’s display at Barnsley.
“And he will have games where he does not look like the player you are expecting him to be.”
In February, when asked about Tomlin’s future, Karanka said: “I don’t know. Because he is a Cardiff player. I have to finish this season. I have spoken with him and he knew that he was going to enjoy his football with me again.
“I know him and how he works and we need to keep our feet on the floor.
“He is a good player and I like him a lot.
“But we need to take things step by step.”
Many Cardiff fans would be disappointed should Tomlin’s spell at the club come to an end so soon.
The former Bristol City and Bournemouth attacker was acquired as the summer’s marquee signing and was expected to play a big role in Warnock’s Premier League push.
Yet he was restricted to largely cameo appearances under the veteran boss and scored just one goal – a last gasp equaliser at Reading – before being shipped out on loan.
But Warnock, when asked about Tomlin last week, refused to be drawn on what the future holds.
“He’s done well, I speak to Lee quite a lot,” said the City boss. “He’s enjoying it (at Forest).
“We’ll have a chat at the end of the season, but he needed games.”