Former Rotherham striker Danny Ward has outlined his reasons for joining Cardiff City and revealed that he spoke to Town before opting for a reunion with his former Millers boss Neil Warnock in Wales.
The 26-year-old’s £1.6 million switch to the Bluebirds, which had been expected for a number of weeks, was finally confirmed on Friday.
As reported at the time, Town initially made a bid for Ward in January with reports that they had made a what was described as a "substantial offer" during the summer emerging during the week.
"I’d worked with Neil Warnock before and loved my time at Rotherham with him,” Ward explained to the Sheffield Star. "He was brilliant, and so were Blacky [Warnock’s assistant Kevin Blackwell] and Jeppo [coach Ronnie Jepson].
"I knew a few of the Cardiff lads as well. Everything seemed to fit. That’s what swayed me to go for Cardiff rather than Ipswich.
"Obviously, Cardiff is a long, long way away, but when you know some of the people down there and you know the manager can get teams promoted because he’s done it in the past, it makes moving easier. It just seemed like a great opportunity.
"I had a couple of conversations with Ipswich. But Cardiff were in and the fact Neil was there was a big thing because we’d worked so well together before.
"He kept Rotherham up in 2016 and I know what he’s about. I’m good friends with Jon Stead and Paddy Kenny, who’ve worked with him before and done great things with him.
"They don’t have a bad word to say about him, and I’d experienced that myself. That’s why Cardiff was the one for me.”
It seems likely that Ward’s conversations with the Blues came prior to Town securing the £1 million signing of Joe Garner from Rangers.