Bolton close in on Cardiff City striker Joe Mason

Wanderers are poised to bring Joe Mason back for a third spell on loan – but fans may still have to be patient before seeing him in action.

It appears Dougie Freedman is winning the battle to sign the young striker ahead of Brighton and one un-named Championship club.

But while the Whites are confident of landing their man, it has emerged Cardiff City boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants Mason to agree a new contract before sending him out for more games.

Speaking yesterday, the Norwegian coach insisted that although he is looking to loan out the 22-year-old, he still wants him at the Cardiff City Stadium in the longer term.

“Joe has a big future with Cardiff City and we are having talks on a new contract,” said Solskjaer. “When they are concluded Joe is likely to go out on loan. I want him playing first-team football and continuing his development.”

Mason’s current deal ends in 2016 but Solskjaer wants him to commit beyond that.

The length of the loan is not yet known, although Freedman has hinted that he is not looking for short-term deals this season.

If Wanderers were to get Mason for the whole campaign he would currently have only 12 months left to run on his contract, which explains the Bluebirds’ insistence that he pen a longer deal.

Mason’s current deal ends in 2016 but Solskjaer wants him to commit beyond that.

The length of the loan is not yet known, although Freedman has hinted that he is not looking for short-term deals this season.

If Wanderers were to get Mason for the whole campaign he would currently have only 12 months left to run on his contract, which explains the Bluebirds’ insistence that he pen a longer deal.

Cardiff paid £250,000 for Mason when they signed him from Plymouth Argyle three years ago and he has scored 15 goals in 35 league starts, plus 32 appearances as a substitute.

He is rated highly in South Wales but could find his first-team appearances restricted because of Solskjaer’s brimming attacking options, which include Javi Guerra, Adam Le Fondre, Federico Macheda, Nicky Maynard and Kenwyne Jones.

As The Bolton News reported in May, Freedman has been waiting patiently for an opportunity to bring Mason back to the North West.

He joined Bolton for two spells last season, scoring six goals in 16 appearances in total.

But it was in his second spell, where he played more often in a front pairing with Lukas Jutkiewicz, that Mason enjoyed most success.

Source

This loan deal could just be till January as Brighton are linked with bringing him in then.

What a load of obstructive bollocks from Cardiff.

If he comes to us for a year, they'll still have twelve months to negotiate a new deal at the end of it.

Tell 'em to fuck off and sign Lightening Leroy instead.

a season long loan would be great

Despite the articles' deluded optimism I think this is bad news as OGS clearly knows the lad is wanted here but we'll never get him permanently unless it's at an inflated price. He's prepared to let Mason sit the season out rather than let him go on loan if he doesn't sign a new deal.
And a new deal may mean an increase in wages for Joe, so we'll probably have to pay more if he does come.

I feel sorry for Freedman as he clearly had Mason in his sights as one who was affordable and a possible longer term permanent signing. That's changed now. Still DF said he was after 3 "striking options" (whatever that means) so we'll see what the cat drags in.