Cardiff City are "willing listeners with open arms" if Gareth Bale decides he wants to play for his hometown club.
Chairman Mehmet Dalman confirmed the Bluebirds' stance with speculation linking Bale and Cardiff refusing to go away despite the obvious financial gulf in what the player is used to be being paid and what the club could afford.
A sensational Bale transfer remains unlikely in reality, but there will be a complete transformation of the Bluebirds squad over the coming weeks with a raft of players to leave at the end of their contracts. Manager Steve Morison has already held talks with new targets ( you can read about them here ), and between 10 and 15 new faces are expected to arrive this summer.
Read next: Gareth Bale to Cardiff City makes so much sense this summer for personal and footballing reasons
Dalman told BBC Radio Wales: "I have nothing to add [on Bale] to what you already know. Gareth Bale is going to do what Gareth Bale wants and we are willing listeners with open arms if he chooses to do that."
He continued: "It's been a difficult season, not just for Cardiff but for the league in general. It will be good to get this season behind us.
"Our team have been really busy, both the football side and management side, going through the strategy and looking at who is going to be coming in. We are well prepared to enter that market. It will be challenging but also exciting. We have some really good lads coming through the academy and we're looking to bring some young fresh blood into the team and a few experienced ones.
"It is exciting. There will be players available and all we have to do is convince players that what we are trying to do is something they want to be part of."
One of the players whose contract is just weeks away from running out is, of course, midfield stalwart Joe Ralls. Many fans are keen for him to stay after a decade of service, but Dalman says the ball is in the player's court.
"It is a question more for Joe than me actually. He has been a fantastic servant, is a very talented player and we like him a lot. But it is his call much more than ours."
Dalman spoke of the impressive work Morison and Mark Hudson have being doing behind the scenes, preparing presentations and pitches to give to prospective signings. And he urged fans to back the boss going forward, despite the recent run of defeats and poor performances.
"Steve Morison came in with a brief to keep us in the league and he has done that. As much as I dislike losing any game, it is academic because whether we finish 17th or 18th, or 15th or 16th, is not going to make a great deal of difference. The important thing is what are we going to do in the summer window to strengthen this football team.
"The fans have been great through difficult times. This is a big transformation for us and a very different approach since Vincent Tan has had the club. Be patient and please get behind the manager."
As for Tan, Dalman insisted he was still committed to the club amid reports of potential takeover bids.
"He has been like a rock in supporting the club. It has been a really difficult time for him over the past few years with the pandemic. Yet he is still here, still committed. He talks to the manager on a regular basis. I can't ask more from him and I can't demand more budget. It's just a reality of where we are.
He is still very committed. He watches every single game, he talks about every game. He is fully engaged."
