The reported Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic target left Aston Villa at the end of last season.
The former Aston Villa midfielder, Glenn Whelan, has rejected a move to Cyprus amid interest from a trio of Championship clubs, Cardiff City, Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic, according to the Irish Sun.
The newspaper claims Whelan had an offer to join Pafos, while three Scottish sides are also linked with the Irishman, who believes that moving to a less competitive league will damage his international prospects.
“I’ve had people on the phone, it hasn’t stopped for the last few days. I had one or two foreign options,” said the reported Cardiff, Blackburn and Charlton target, who was released upon Aston Villa’s return to the Premier League.
“But when I spoke to the manager, it was about playing as high as I can. So for me to go to a different league, which is probably not as competitive as the Premier League or the Championship. If I do that I think my options would be limited to come back into the international stuff.
“The manager wants me to try and play as high as I can to have a chance of coming in here. I’m open to anything, to be honest.”
Cardiff (Will Vaulks), Blackburn (Bradley Johnson) and Charlton (Johnny Williams) have each added to their central midfield options in recent weeks.
But with the trio having each lost more than one player in Whelan’s position since the end of last season, there could still be space for the former Aston Villa regular.
The 35-year-old has spent the bulk of his career playing Premier League football for Stoke, for whom he also played in the Championship, along with Sheffield Wednesday.
Would the former Aston Villa man be a good addition for Cardiff. Blackburn or Charlton?
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