Cardiff City have withdrawn their offer for Aberdeen winger Jonny Hayes to clear the way for Celtic, according to Sky Sports News HQ.
The broadcaster claim on their website that the Championship club have withdrawn from the race to sign 29-year-old this summer due to a “lack of progress” over a potential deal.
Cardiff had been in a head-to-head battle with Celtic for the signature of the Republic of Ireland international, but their withdrawal from the race could come as a significant boost to the Scottish giants.
The Welsh-based outfit had tabled a bid of £750,000 rising to £1.2million for the highly-rated wide-man, who scored 11 goals and supplied 24 assists from 44 appearances in all competitions last season.
They had also made a concerted push to sign Hayes during the winter transfer window, only to see two bids rebuffed by Aberdeen. The player later committed his future to Pittodrie until 2019.
Sky report that the path has been cleared for Celtic, who tabled a similar bid, but are hoping to offer midfielder Ryan Christie in exchange as part of the deal to bring Hayes to Parkhead.
Christie spent the second-half of last season on loan at Aberdeen, but he faces fierce competition for a regular first-team role at Celtic next season.
However, a report by the Press and Journal on Wednesday suggested that Aberdeen viewed Cardiff’s offer as the better proposal, and that Celtic had to stump up more cash if they wanted to land Hayes.
But with Cardiff now understood to have pulled the plug on their pursuit, Celtic have being given the all clear to fine-tune their own attempts and win the race for the Scottish Premiership star.