Jay Bothroyd

West Ham, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers told they will have to wait until summer to sign Jay Bothroyd from Cardiff City

The army of Premier League clubs hoping to sign Jay Bothroyd have been told they will have to wait until the summer to sign the Cardiff City striker.

Bothroyd has attracted interest from West Ham, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers following his goalscoring exploits in the Championship. But Cardiff have told the 28-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, that he will not be allowed to leave the south Wales club until the end of the season.
Although Cardiff could command a £2 million fee for Bothroyd, they believe a potential cash windfall is far outweighed by the benefits of keeping their leading goalscorer to spearhead their promotion push. Dave Jones’ team currently lie second in the Championship.
“For us it is all about promotion and we have a far better chance of doing that with Jay Bothroyd in our side,” a Cardiff insider told Goal.com UK. “Although there is a lot of interest in Jay and we could get good money for him, he has been told he will not be leaving in the window. We need him here and he wants to help us go in to the Premier League.”
Bothroyd, who can leave for free in the summer, is able to begin talking to suitors this month although it is understood that he is currently keeping his options open.
The player responded to rumours of interest from the Premier League on his Twitter page and said: “There are always rumours but I am concentrating on getting to the Prem with Cardiff – that’s my sole focus.”
Bothroyd has been on the sidelines since December 4 after picking up hamstring and heel injuries. Although he began the season on fire with 15 goals in his first 16 games, he has not scored for his club since making his England debut as a substitute in the 2-1 defeat against France on November 17.