ARON GUNNARSSON, the Iceland skipper whose long-throw led to England’s downfall in France this summer, is a wanted man again.
Championship rivals Norwich City and Derby County are ready to go toe-to-toe to sign the 27-year-old Cardiff City midfielder, after both clubs agreed to meet the Bluebirds’ £2million valuation.
Tough-tackling Gunarsson has clocked up almost 200 appearances for Cardiff since Malky Mackay signed him from Coventry City in 2011.
The warrior-like midfielder will go down in Cardiff folklore as the man who scored the Welsh club’s historic first-ever Premier League goal, in a 3-2 win against Manchester City in August, 2013.
However Gunnarsson fell out of favour with manager Russell Slade last season and made just 28 appearances – 11 from the bench.
He was absent again as Cardiff kicked off the new season with a goalless draw under new head coach Paul Trollope at Birmingham on Saturday.
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A parting of the ways now seems inevitable, with youngster Joe Ralls, Stuart O’Keefe and Peter Whittingham all ahead of Gunnarsson in the pecking order..
That has alerted Rams boss Nigel Pearson and his Canaries’ counterpart Alex Neil, who both believe they could use the inspirational skipper who led Iceland’s incredible march to the Euro quarter-finals this summer.
They are now locking horns as they try to persuade the bearded Viking midfielder to join their promotion push as they battle to make the Premier League.
They believe Gunnarsson’s drive and huge experience will enhance their chances - while his specialist long-throw, which set up Ragnar Sigurdsson’s equaliser against England, is a more-than-useful additional bonus.
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