Cardiff Blues are in advanced contract negotiations with back rower Will Boyde after the player was announced as being released by the Scarlets at the end of the season.

The 24-year-old has come through the development pathway in West Wales after being born in Narberth, playing for Carmarthen Quins and earning Wales U20 honours along the way.

Boyde actually made his Guinness Pro14 debut at the Arms Park in December 2014, just after his 20th birthday, but had to wait until the 2016/17 campaign to really make his breakthrough with 24 appearances in all competitions, including coming off the bench in the Semi-Final and Final as Scarlets lifted the trophy.

He also came off the bench in the Heineken Champions Cup Quarter and Semi-Finals against La Rochelle and Leinster last season, and has made 83 appearances for the Scarlets, scoring 10 tries along the way.

Capable of playing right across the back row, he has earned a reputation as a powerful operator at the breakdown and a carrier of the ball who belies his 5ft11, 15st frame, in a similar mold to that of Josh Navidi.

Many Scarlets supporters expressed disappointment at the news that Boyde is departing at the end of the season, and it now appears Cardiff Blues are going to be the beneficiaries of that disappointment by jumping to secure his signature.

He would compete with the likes of Navidi, Ellis Jenkins, Josh Turnbull, Olly Robinson and Shane Lewis-Hughes at the Arms Park, while Nick Williams is rumoured to be staying on for one more season as well.