Aberdeen reject second bid from Cardiff City for Jonny Hayes

Jonny Hayes arrives back from Aberdeen's training camp in Dubai. Picture: SNS

The Championship side had a bid believed to be in the region of £500,000 for the Irish international rejected by the Dons last week.

Cardiff were told by Derek McInnes to “be serious” with their offer, the deal structured over various payments. However, the Welsh outfit have returned with a bid which will see Aberdeen receive a similar figure, albeit structured differently, for the in-form wide man.

The 29-year-old has been the club’s star performer as they challenge Rangers for second place. Aberdeen sit two points behind the Ibrox side in the Ladbrokes Premiership but with a game in hand, and will see the loss of Hayes as a massive dent in their ambitions.

McInnes, speaking at a press conference ahead of the weekend’s William Hill Scottish Cup clash with Stranraer, said: “Jonny is concentrating on Saturday’s game and we’ve had an offer for him which we’ve rejected.

“Cardiff came in with a second offer which was just structured differently from the first and was rejected.”

While hayes has 18 months left to run on his contract, team mate Niall McGinn’s contract expires at the end of the season. McInnes confirmed talks over a new contract for the Northern Irish international will begin at the end of the month. While the club are still waiting to hear from Norwich City regarding the return of James Maddison.

He said: “Norwich are waiting to see what happens before making a decision on James and I’m still confident he will return.”