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Glen Williams

Aaron Ramsey addresses his future, Cardiff City 'noise' and the main factor that will decide what happens now

Nice midfielder Aaron Ramsey said being able to be with his family again will play a huge part in deciding where he plays his football next season.

The Wales captain's contract is up at Nice at the end of this month, however reports in France suggest he has played enough games to trigger an extension to his contract. No news has been forthcoming on that front, though.

And it appears that he isn't 100 percent sure what the future holds for him just yet. When he was asked to clarify his situation, he said: "I'm not sure what my future is at the moment. The most important thing is for me to focus on these games (against Armenia and Turkey).

"We will find out in a few weeks' time, when everything has settled down a bit. My full focus is on Friday (against Armenia). I'll have to keep you guys [the press] waiting a bit longer."

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Asked directly about whether a return to Cardiff City was on the cards, the 32-year-old replied: "There's always rumours going around, isn't there? There is always that bit of noise.

"Like I said, Friday is all that's on my mind at the moment."

Clearly, his club career remains up in the air, with news expected to come after Wales' camp over the coming week.

Ramsey will captain Wales into the next two qualifiers for next year's Euros, with Rob Page's side having already earned four hard-fought points from their first two games.

Wales currently sit second in Group D, behind Croatia only on goal difference. They take on Armenia at Cardiff City Stadium this Friday before flying out to Samsun, where they will face Turkey next Monday.

And Ramsey goes into the match feeling fit after a fruitful season with Nice. Clearly, he enjoyed his time on the pitch, but there is no getting away from the fact that he missed being with his family, who have been based in south Wales.

"This season has been a success for me personally, I played a lot of games and some good football. The only thing missing was a few goals, but that will come again," he added.

"The most challenging thing is being away from my family. That's the situation I find myself in. But other than that, there are lot of positives I have taken. So, we'll see."

Ultimately, for Ramsey, whatever he decides beyond this season will be centred around bringing his family unit back together. Whether that is triggering a new contract in Nice and moving them out there, embarking on a new adventure somewhere else or even moving back to the Welsh capital.

Asked if being together with his family permanently would be the main driver behind his decision, he replied: "Of course. I've been away from my family and seeing the kids growing up, missing out, it's always difficult. Difficult for anyone to go through, I imagine.

"Whatever we do going forward, we will be reunited and back together."

Wales earned a draw out in Croatia in their first game thanks to a last-gasp Nathan Broadhead goal before grinding out a 1-0 win over Latvia at home. They will hope to keep that momentum going over the upcoming double header this week.

"It's a massive camp for us. The World Cup was a huge disappointment for us and it was important to get off to a good start," he said while on a video call from Wales' training camp in Portugal.

"To bounce back straightaway in those two games sets up nicely. Huge now to back that up against Armenia. It's a game we need to win and all our attention is on that."

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