Will Mick’s Irish links help Cardiff bag Curtis?

CARDIFF City are among a number of Championship clubs chasing highly-rated Portsmouth winger Ronan Curtis, the Western Mail has learned.

The Bluebirds moved quickly to make their first signing of the summer when on Wednesday they announced the capture of James Collins, who will join on a free transfer following the end of his contract at Luton Town.

There are a number of other positions Mick McCarthy will want to fill quickly as we approach the opening of the summer transfer window and one of those is on the wing.

And the Mail has been told that Republic of Ireland international Curtis is high on the list of the Bluebirds’ targets.

Like Collins, McCarthy has managed Curtis at international level and has previously spoken very highly of the winger’s qualities.

Given the exits of Sheyi Ojo and Junior Hoilett, Cardiff are looking to fill a wing berth this summer and the 25-year-old Pompey star is among the list of candidates, although the Bluebirds are not alone, with Blackburn Rovers, Reading and Derby County all having been credited with an interest in recent weeks.

Curtis, who predominantly plays on the left wing, scored 10 goals and provided seven assists for the League One outfit this term as they ultimately failed in their quest for promotion. He has hit double figures for goals for three seasons running.

It is thought Curtis now believes the time is right to make the step up to the Championship, having been such a consistent performer in the tier below for the last three years.

The player also appeared to drop a major hint over his future this week, when he removed the words “footballer for Portsmouth FC” from his social media account. Instead, his Twitter bio now simply reads “Irish international”.

The six-cap Ireland star has two years left to run on his Portsmouth contract so he will not come cheap. When Blackburn registered their interest in January 2020 it was said Portsmouth wanted around £3m.

However, reports on the south coast now suggest he could be snapped up for less than half of that.