Exclusive: Cardiff City, Crawley Town and Walsall activate player's release clause - transfer talks to take place | OneFootball

Cardiff City, Crawley and Walsall have all activated the release clause of Flint Town defender Isaac Lee, Football League World has learned

Cardiff City, Crawley Town and Walsall have all activated the release clause of highly-rated Flint Town United star Isaac Lee ahead of formal negotiations with the defender, sources have exclusively revealed to Football League World.

The three clubs are bidding in earnest to prepare for the 2025/26 campaign, which will take place in League One for the first time in more than 20 years for Cardiff, while League Two beckons for both Crawley and Walsall.

Crawley narrowly suffered relegation to League Two alongside Bristol Rovers, Cambridge United and Shrewsbury Town after finishing just one point shy of 20th-placed Burton Albion, whereas Walsall are preparing for another campaign in the fourth-tier following a dramatic failed promotion bid, in which the Saddlers blew a staggering 12-point lead at the top of the table back in January before ending up in the play-offs and ultimately losing out to AFC Wimbledon in the final at Wembley.

Unlike Cardiff, the League Two pair have already made signings this summer, but they are facing serious competition in an effort to make Lee yet another addition ahead of their respective fourth-tier campaigns.

Cardiff, Crawley and Walsall set for Isaac Lee transfer talks after activating Flint Town release clause

Sources close to FLW have disclosed that the trio have all activated Lee's release clause at Cymru Premier outfit Flint Town and are now set to hold talks with the central defender over a move this summer.

The financial details of the release clause remain unclear, although it's one which all three sides are evidently willing to pay as they now prepare to thrash out discussions with 21-year-old Lee.

A ball-playing central defender of an imperious 6'6" frame, Lee made more than 30 appearances for Flint in Welsh football's top-flight last term and won both the club's Young Player of the Year and the Fan's Player of the Year awards.

Lee began his career with Championship side Stoke City and spent time with the likes of AFC Fylde, Ramsbottom United, Radcliffe FC and Stafford Rangers before moving to Flint, where he has established himself as one of the next emerging stars from Welsh domestic football.

Flint Town's Isaac Lee has big transfer decision to make amid Cardiff, Crawley and Walsall developments

With the release clause having been met, Lee's next destination will now be determined by the outcome of negotiations with each side and where he feels will best suit both his immediate and long-term career progression, which, still aged 21, is sure to be a priority for the imposing defender.

He will be keen to follow suit of many high-profile Cymru Premier exports of recent times, such as Mansfield Town frontman Will Evans, in graduating to the EFL and receiving sufficient playing minutes to show his worth.

Just how available those minutes could prove at Cardiff, for instance, particularly from the offset, is open for debate. The Bluebirds are widely recognised as one of the favourites to achieve promotion from League One and will be looking to conduct transfer business accordingly.

Lee, who would have to usurp the likes of Jesper Daland, Calum Chambers, Will Fish and academy prodigy Dylan Lawlor in the thinking of new head coach Brian Barry-Murphy if he does indeed join Cardiff, could instead find a loan move to another EFL destination, ideally, in League Two, as the order of the day in the Welsh capital.

He would, however, surely stand a better chance of immediately integrating into the first-team set-up with either Crawley or Walsall, even if the duo will also have their own designs on promotion.

That's not to say Cardiff would be a bad move, however - it would likely enable Lee to develop as a better technical footballer under a highly-regarded head coach with an esteemed track record of developing some of the country's finest talent during his days in charge of Manchester City's Elite Development Squad, although the factor of playing regularly also has to be considered in his thinking.