DEREK McINNES described another bid by Cardiff City to lure Aberdeen winger Jonny Hayes to the English Championship as “bizarre”, after the Welsh club offered the same money as their original attempt to sign the player a few days earlier.

Only the payment structure of the £500,000 fee had apparently altered and McInnes told them to think again claiming their behaviour could have an unsettling effect on the Republic of Ireland international.

Neil Warnock, who has been in the Cardiff hotseat for three months, needs new faces to steer his side away from their place seventh from bottom of the league, but Mcinnes insisted Hayes would not be leaving unless the offer was increased significantly.

"That's three times we have had them on now and they have been told it's nowhere near the valuation we have of him," said McInnes. "If they value him the way we do then they will need to be serious with their offer, but so far it has just been the same one. Sometimes there does come a time when you get an offer where you have to weigh things up. At this stage we are way short of being there.”

The Aberdeen manager, meanwhile, awaits news from Norwich City on whether James Maddison can extend his loan spell at Pittodrie.

Maddison, a £2.5m purchase by Norwich from Coventry City, did well in the first half of the Ladbrokes Premiership season but returned to Carrow Road at the start of the year, He said: "I spoke to Alex Neil [the Norwich manager] last week and he's got a few ins and out at his club, which I totally respect. We are waiting to hear from them and are hoping it will be good news but we also have to look at other things.”

Meanwhile, McInnes has spoken to his out-of-contract players, including Niall McGinn who is a target for Hearts, Andrew Considine and Ash Taylor. McInnes confirmed he’ll put deadlines on them making decisions on their future in the next couple of weeks.