The future of Thomas Ince is in the balance after Blackpool accepted Cardiff's £8m bid for the England Under-21 winger. Although Paul Ince, Blackpool's manager and the player's father, has confirmed that the offer is on the table, he remains unsure whether his son will be leaving north-west England in the near future.

"Cardiff have come in massively for Thomas and the chairman has accepted their offer," confirmed Ince senior, speaking from Blackpool's pre-season training camp in Portugal. "But Thomas has told me he's in no rush to leave the club. I think it's 50/50 at the moment. He loves it here. It's a tricky one for me - ideally you want your son to be playing in the Premier League but you also want him to be playing for you. I wouldn't put my hat on it that he'll be playing in the Premier League this year."

Ince junior scored 18 goals in 44 Championship appearances last season, a creditable haul for a winger and has attracted interest from higher-profile Premier League clubs including Liverpool - where he began his career and, who, under the terms of his transfer to Blackpool, stand to benefit from a 35 per cent sell-on clause and have first refusal should they match any bid for him - and Newcastle United.

There is a feeling at Bloomfield Road that Cardiff's move may serve to smoke out longstanding interest from Anfield and St James' Park in the 21-year-old this summer and, even if nothing happens in the next couple of months, it could suit Blackpool, and Ince senior, to keep the club's most talented player until January at the earliest.

Even so, Paul Ince may be left in an awkward position should his board decide Cardiff's £8m offer is simply too lucrative to resist.

Source: Guardian