Midfielder Ryan Wintle had seen plenty of Cardiff first-hand before joining the club.

Close friend Perry Ng left Crewe to join the Bluebirds in January and former Alex team-mate Wintle regularly watched him play.

Wintle, 24, was out of contract at Crewe and is “buzzing” to move to the Sky Bet Championship club on a three-year deal.

He told Cardiff City TV: “I spoke to Perry as soon as I found out about the interest and he had a very high regard for this place.

“When we didn’t have a game I watched Cardiff because I was watching Perry. Now I’m here as a player so hopefully we can win games together.”