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Cardiff Blues have launched an audacious bid to sign Lions star Taulupe Faletau and keep him in Wales.

The Dragons No 8 has been linked with English big guns Bath and Northampton, having failed to take up an offer to extend his stay at Rodney Parade.

He still has a year to run on his current contract with the Gwent outfit, but they may opt to take a business decision and release him early if the right offer comes in.

Now, in a dramatic twist, the Blues have entered the equation.

Chairman Peter Thomas revealed: “We have been in contact with Taulupe Faletau’s agent and made him an offer.

“Cardiff Blues are most definitely interested in the player coming to us and I am sure Warren Gatland would be delighted at keeping him in Wales.

“If the Dragons opt to make a business decision to release him, then I would fully understand that.

“But if we can offer a way to keep him here, to keep him performing him at regional level and playing for Wales - with all the off-field and financial benefits that come with that - then surely that’s the best option for Welsh rugby?

Pictures: The Wales home boys versus the exiles

“With a national dual contract and support from the Blues we can do that.

“It has to be better that he stays in Wales rather than goes outside the country.

“The disappointing thing is we have had no response from his agent.”

The Dragons have offered the 45-cap Faletau a fresh deal, but his failure to come up with a firm answer has left them worried he will walk away when his contract runs out.

That, in turn, might make them more receptive to the idea of cashing in by letting him go early, especially considering how much of next season he will spend away with Wales, at the World Cup and the Six Nations.

The WRU withdrew its offer of a National Dual Contract to the 24-year-old in May after he failed to meet the deadline to sign it, leaving coach Gatland disappointed.

That has led to growing speculation that he might be looking for a lucrative move outside of Wales, with both Bath and Northampton in the market for a quality No 8.

Big-spending Bath had been after Springboks Test star Duane Vermeulen, but he has signed up with Toulon, leaving Faletau a prime target.

The Saints have a back row vacancy too following the departure of United States international Samu Manoa, who is also joining Toulon’s stellar cast.

Both clubs would in all likelihood need to come up with a transfer to buy Faletau out of his contract.

For the Dragons, the question is whether they cash in now or risk the player leaving for nothing at the end of next season.

They do have other options at No 8, with Ed Jackson arriving from Wasps and Kiwi Nick Crosswell and home product Lewis Evans already on board.

Whether the WRU - who have a 50 per cent stake in the Dragons - would want or be able to step in and block any sale of the Tonga-born forward is unclear.

It’s also unclear how the Gwent region would feel about releasing him to play for their local rivals, the Blues.

Faletau changed agents last season to join the company which looks after the interests of Real Madrid star Gareth Bale.

He knows Bale through girl-friend Charlotte Rhys-Jones, who is the sister of the Wales football team talisman’s partner Emma Rhys-Jones.

Faletau is the most recent Wales star linked with the Aviva Premiership. Jamie Roberts has signed for Harlequins, while Scarlets outside-half Rhys Priestland is heading for Bath.