Cardiff City urged to land £3m-rated 'Ryan Wintle upgrade' amid Rangers & Celtic battle | OneFootball

Cardiff City have eyed a move for Motherwell ace Elliot Watt alongside Celtic and Rangers

Cardiff City are bolstering their ranks following their promotion from League One to the Championship.

The Bluebirds successfully bounced back to the second tier at the first time of asking, and are now vying to avoid an unwanted third-tier return.

Cardiff have been heavily reliant on young stars such as Ronan Kpakio and Dylan Lawlor, but adding more experience to their ranks will prove vital in the Championship.

Brian Barry-Murphy's men have already completed the permanent addition of goalkeeper Nathan Trott, following his successful spell on loan from Copenhagen.

Cardiff City backed to complete swoop for Motherwell star as Ryan Wintle 'concern' outlined

Cardiff midfielder Ryan Wintle played a key role in the Bluebirds' promotion from League One, notching one goal and seven assists in 40 third-tier appearances.

However, the Welsh capital outfit are keen on strengthening their options in all areas of the pitch.

According to the Scottish Sun, Cardiff, Celtic, and Rangers have all eyed Motherwell midfielder Elliot Watt, who excelled for the Fir Park outfit this term, and is rated at around the £3 million-mark by his club

Football League World asked our Bluebirds fan pundit, Matt Hall, if Watt is a potential upgrade on Wintle, or if it concerns him that the Motherwell man has spent the majority of his career in League Two.

Watt told FLW: "With regards to Elliot Watt, it's an interesting one. Obviously, Jens Berthel Askou was the Motherwell manager, brought him in last summer.

"Obviously, I think there's a lot to do with data nowadays. You see it with Hearts, it's success. A lot of the data. They've brought in players who maybe aren't quite fancied, haven't quite picked up over their careers and hit their potential.

"A lot of those players have done really well with them, and they're not always ones that are 21 or 22. I think it's a similar thing with Motherwell.

"Obviously, Askou himself has been poached by Toulouse in France and credited a lot for his work with the style of play, Motherwell being one of the better teams, probably the best team on the eye actually in Scotland.

"Watt has played that number six role. I can't profess to say that I've watched him his entire career, obviously, a lot of it being in League Two.

"I think he had one real standout with Salford, where he got 16 assists in the league, which is crazy really. But from what I gather, he's played further forward, and this season he's dropped back a lot more.

"There's a really good piece on YouTube. I can't credit the individual who's done it, but it goes into analysing the work that he's done as a number six for Motherwell this season.

"There's a lot of context as to why someone may not have peaked until this late in their career. One of those (reasons) may be that it's a case that this manager has seen something in him that no other manager has seen before to play him in this deeper role.

"A lot of his roles have been a little bit further forward. In League Two, I don't think you get to show how good a footballer you are a lot of the time. It is a lot more direct.

"So this is probably the first time that he has really got to express an ability on the ball and composure. Obviously, he's done really well with it.

"He's really adept at keeping calm under pressure. He often gets it on the half-turn from the goalkeeper with two or three attackers pressing him, and has very rarely given it away.

"That's a valuable skill. I think him being in League Two for so long is a positive in that he'll have that experience of English football and the physicality of it."

Despite Watt's obvious class though for Motherwell, a similarity he has to the departing Wintle has brought the concern that he may not be the best fit for the Championship.

"I think the big concern with Ryan Wintle is that, duels-wise, even if his statistics are good for it, he wasn't the quickest or strongest or the best in those duels," Matt added.

"There were a few times that (in a) 50/50, someone would get the better of him. There was a risk that, as a number six, he'd get overrun. I still have those concerns with Elliot Watt.

"I just think that, in the Championship, someone of his stature as a six, I'm more someone that would prefer that traditional six-foot plus, bit more physical, bit more of an aerial presence, someone who can get round the pitch a lot more quickly, and obviously still have that technical side.

"He may not be the only six we sign. He will clearly be an upgrade in possession on Wintle, who I thought was quite safe, pretty average on the ball.

"In League One level, that does stand out, but at Championship level would not have been anywhere near good enough on the ball. It is a clear upgrade in that area.

"Whether we would then need to bring somebody else in that can help out in the defensive side of a number six remains to be seen. Ultimately, I would trust BBM.

"If he has identified him as being a good fit for his midfield, with the amount of statistics and the amount of detail that he goes into, I would trust that decision."

Elliot Watt could be a real asset for Cardiff - But Celtic and Rangers interest is a worry

As Hall alluded to, Watt has spent the majority of his career playing in League Two for the likes of Carlisle, Bradford, and Salford, but he has proven himself at a higher level by performing well in Motherwell colours.

Watt excelled under Askou's possession-based philosophy, which suggests that he would adjust well to Barry-Murphy's style at Cardiff.

However, rival interest from Celtic and Rangers spells bad news for the Bluebirds, thanks to the prestige of the Old Firm clubs, coupled with the fact that they operate in the Scottish Premiership, where the midfielder already plays.

There may be more competition for places though at either of the Old Firm clubs, whereas Cardiff could be more appealing in a minutes per game consideration - there's going to be no shortage of further interest though you'd imagine in the Preston-born maestro.