LONDON, August 16- Manchester City's Welsh international striker Craig Bellamy has been linked with a switch to Championship side Cardiff City, the club he supported as a boy, reports suggested on Sunday.Cardiff would not confirm a deal had been agreed with the Wales captain, but it is believed the 31-year-old striker could complete a loan move on Monday.

A Cardiff spokesman told the Press Association: "With the number and the names of the clubs being mentioned in connection to Craig it is flattering that we are an option, but at this stage it is pure speculation.

"Being connected to a player of this calibre shows how far we have come, to be even considered in a deal like this.

"We would love it to happen of course, but we are by no means alone in this."

Bellamy, who is surplus to requirements at big-spending Manchester City and had been linked with a loan move to Celtic, has hinted that he would love to play for the Welsh club who just missed out on promotion to the Premier League last season.

"I have always wanted to play for Cardiff. I’ve never been shy in saying that," he said last week.

"My wife and kids live here, I’ve missed them now for the last five or six years, so that would have more of a pull to me than most.

"I will have to wait and see and see what options are possible but I certainly wouldn’t rule it out."