Cardiff City ‘in talks’ to sign ex-Man United prospect as player omitted from squad

The 27-year-old midfielder started his career at Old Trafford, with his father having been an important figure at the Premier League club

Cardiff City are reportedly in talks to sign Dutch defensive midfielder Melle Meulensteen from Go Ahead Eagles.

The 27-year-old is understood to have been left out of the club’s Eredivisie clash with Feyenoord on Sunday due to the transfer interest around him. Sky Sports report that he missed the 2-2 draw as the club do not want to risk the former Manchester United youth player getting injured and robbing them of a transfer fee.

Sky added that talks are not at an advanced stage just yet, but the fact the midfielder – who can also play centre-back – was kept out of Go Ahead Eagles’ line-up this weekend suggest things could quickly change.

Reports in the Netherlands add that the club are believed to keen on keeping hold of Meulensteen.

The midfielder joined the club from Sampdoria last year and has another three years left on his contract.

While he did not feature this weekend, he was involved in last week’s 4-1 home win over Willem II.

The name should be a familiar one to football fans, with his dad Rene having been assistant manager at Manchester United. He also managed Fulham and the Australia national team.

His sister, Pien, is a Sky Sports broadcaster who became the first woman to commentate on a live Premier League match for the channel in 2023.

Meulensteen scored five goals and provided three assists during his first season at Go Ahead Eagles.

Having started his career in Manchester United’s academy, he moved onto Preston – captaining their youth side.

He then moved to Dutch side RKC Waalwijk before heading to Vitesse in 2022.

The midfielder would then sign a three-year deal with Italian club Sampdoria, only to return the Netherlands a year later.

The Bluebirds made Liverpool full-back Calum Scanlon their latest signing on Saturday, with the 21-year-old putting pen to paper on another loan deal.

However, they have missed out on Omari Kellyman after Chelsea opted to pursue a permanent sale of the midfielder.