Cardiff City have turned down a £2.5m bid from Fulham for their midfielder Peter Whittingham, according to the Daily Mail.
The Whites have been watching Whittingham for a number of seasons and are believed to have had at least one previous approach rebuffed. Cardiff manager Malky Mackay is desperate to keep hold of the former Aston Villa midfielder as prepares for another tilt at promotion, especially as the 27 year-old scored thirteen goals from midfield as the Bluebirds were beaten by West Ham in the Championship play-off semi-finals. It was the third successive season that Whittingham had managed more than ten league goals for Cardiff.
With Cardiff now being bankrolled by controversial Malaysian backers, there is no need for Mackay to accept an offer he believes falls far short of Whittingham’s actual worth. The former England under-21 international has scored 68 goals in 266 appearances since a £350,000 move from Villa Park in January 2007. Martin Jol views Whittingham, a left-footed central midfielder who can also play in a more advanced role as a potential replacement for Danny Murphy, but will need to return with a substantially higher offer to land former Villa trainee, who reiterated his happiness to stay at Cardiff earlier this month.
