Cardiff City have hijacked Celtic’s bid to sign Aberdeen winger Jonny Hayes, according to Sky Sports Scotland.
The broadcaster report that the English Championship club have “renewed” their interest in the assist king with a £1.2million bid even though Celtic are in talks to sign him.
Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers has earmarked Hayes, 29, as a potential summer signing on the back of a brilliant campaign in which he was a key figure as Aberdeen punched above their weight.
Sky Sports Scotland posted a message on their official Twitter account to report that Cardiff had upped the ante in their bid to win the race for the wide man.
Sky sources – #cardiffcity renew interest in Jonny Hayes with £1.2 million bid. #Celtic remain in talks over the winger.
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) June 4, 2017
This comes after the Daily Record reported that the Welsh outfit were set to rival the Hoops to the signing of Hayes.
The newspaper stated Cardiff were set to reignite their interest in the player after having several bids of around £1million rejected in the January window.
However, a Team Talk report later claimed the Glasgow giants had won the race to sign the Irishman, who has two years left on his current contract at Pittodrie.
Hayes enjoyed a superb 2016/17 campaign for the Dons, as he supplied 24 assists in 41 league and cup games, as well as scoring 11 goals.
He was primarily utilised by Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes on the right-wing this term, but he also featured on the left at times.
The 29-year-old assist king arrived at Pittodrie on a free from Inverness in the summer of 2012, and he has since made more than 200 appearances in all competitions for the club, providing 71 assists and scoring 30 goals.
Hayes has been capped by the Republic of Ireland three times, making his debut in a 1-0 friendly win over Switzerland in March of last year.