Thursday 15th May 2014.
' No budget has been agreed yet for the Championship for Cardiff City '
Bellamy, Cowie & No Budget Yet Agreed
Manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has talked about the futures of Craig Bellamy and Don Cowie and also admitted that as of yet no transfer budget has been agreed for next season's campaign.
Speaking to Wales Online, the gaffer said that Bellamy's future is in the hands of the players and in his opinion he needs time to reflect on what was a difficult campaign before coming to a decision on his future, as obviously the 34 year old is out of contract this summer and he needs to make a decision on whether he remains at the club, or takes a different path now.
Ole says that so far no decision has been made and he doesn't expect the player to make one quickly.
Don Cowie is also out of contract this summer and and Ole confirmed that he had already been offered fresh terms and an extension, but not having seen the game time he would've liked in 2013-14, the manager understands he'll be thinking about his future aswell.
'We have offered him a new deal, he has a few offers to think about. Don is a terrific professional who has given us everything, I haven't been able to give him enough football and understand the frustration that can cause.'
Of course we have a few others out of contract this summer as well and Ole says he doesn't want to see a mass exodus of players if he can help it as he wants to keep the group together and then add further quality to give us the best shot of bouncing straight back up, and that specifically applies to players who can get us goals and he points to the fact that Nicky Maynard still has 12 months remaining on his deal.
'I will try to keep hold of the most important players, of course. We must have a strike force to score us goals. If you have players who can score maybe 20-25 goals that's a good start. If two players can total 35-40 goals between them that will be vital.'
For those players at the club who didn't get as much game time as they would've wanted, Ole also says it's a fresh slate in many ways come pre season and everyone will be given a fair crack of the whip to earn their first team spot.
As for the budget revelation, Ole says there isn't a specific rush with that as he's still identifying targets but he knows in some ways his budget will depend on who remains at the club and who moves on in any event.
'That depends on who we manage to keep, who we have to sell and how much we get for them. That's a balancing act. It's not as though you have x amount, now go and spend it.'
It won't just be spending for the sake of it though as the gaffer adds he will be looking at free transfers as well if key players become available and he hasn't ruled out loan deals from the Premiership either.
Read more:
http://www.cardiff.vitalfootball.co.uk/ ... z31nXuWvQQ