Cardiff City held talks with Bristol City's Kasey Palmer but their pursuit of the midfielder appears to have ended, WalesOnline has learned.
The 25-year-old Chelsea product moved to Ashton Gate in 2019 following loan spells with Derby County, Blackburn Rovers and the Robins themselves. Owing to a lack of game-time, Palmer then sought a move to south Wales with City's arch rivals Swansea City, with whom he made 12 appearances before being recalled by the Robins in January 2021.
Palmer was out of the picture under Nigel Pearson last season, playing just 204 Championship minutes, and it is understood the Bristol club want the player off the wage bill ahead of next season.
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Indeed, our colleagues Bristol Live reported the move was perilously close to collapsing after Palmer and Cardiff had held talks over a potential move last weekend. Palmer's salary at Ashton Gate is reported to be £1.2m per year. QPR and Birmingham City were also said to be monitoring the situation.
And WalesOnline learned on Thursday afternoon that signing Palmer is no longer considered an option, despite Cardiff registering strong interest. A source said the club "looked into it but it wasn't going to work" with "other options" in the pipeline. Palmer has another year left on his contract, too, so would have cost a transfer fee to get a permanent deal over the line.
Cardiff believe that the other targets they currently have in their crosshairs are far better suited for what they want moving forward. The Bluebirds' midfield is certainly an area which needs addressing this summer. Joe Ralls, Will Vaulks, Marlon Pack and Leandro Bacuna are all out of contract, while Tommy Doyle has returned to Manchester City and Sam Bowen has just been released to Newport County.
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The Bluebirds have brought in a central player, though, in the form of Ebou Adams, who is one of four early-window signings the club have already made.
Cardiff have held an interest in another Robins player in Callum O'Dowda, who has been released and has as many as seven clubs across the Championship keen on his services. The same, too, can be said for Reading midfielder Josh Laurent, who as it stands will also be a free agent next month with the Royals stating they are in talks over a new deal.
