Cardiff Met: Former Cardiff City, Newport County, and Morecambe man set to join

Former Cardiff City, Morecambe and Newport County midfielder Aaron Wildig is in the process of signing for Cardiff Met ahead of the upcoming season, Y Clwb Pêl-droed understands.

The 34-year-old is set to make a return to Wales, where he began his career with Cardiff City and also spent three seasons with Newport County. Once confirmed, it will be the first time Wildig has played in the Cymru Premier and will see him reunited at Cyncoed Campus with a former Newport County teammate.

Wildig will join the Met after spending last season with Gloucester City in the Southern League Premier Division, where the Tigers reached the play-offs but were beaten by Farnham Town. He featured in Met’s pre-season friendly against Afan Lido over the weekend.

He is set to become the second former Cardiff City player to switch to the Cymru Leagues in the space of a week, following Michael Chopra’s move to Cymru South side Trethomas Bluebirds.

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Aaron Wildig’s career in view, including Cardiff City, Newport County, and Morecambe spells

Born in Hereford, Wildig began his career at Cardiff City, where he captained the club’s Under-18 side. He made his senior debut during the 2009–10 season and scored his first professional goal in a 5-1 defeat to Newcastle United.

During his time at Cardiff, Wildig had loan spells with Hamilton Academical and Shrewsbury Town, later joining the latter on a permanent deal. He made 21 senior appearances for the Bluebirds before being released in 2012, paving the way for his move to Shrewsbury.

At Shrewsbury, Wildig was part of the side that won promotion to League One and earned a new contract. Across his three seasons at the New Meadow, he made over 100 appearances and scored six goals. During his final campaign, he spent time on loan at Kidderminster Harriers before joining Morecambe on loan. As had been the case with Shrewsbury, his loan move was later made permanent.

Morecambe was where Wildig spent the majority of his career. After signing permanently in 2015, he remained at the Globe Arena until 2022. Most of his time with the Shrimps was spent in League Two, although he played a key role in the club’s historic promotion to League One, helping them secure a 1–0 victory over Newport County in the 2021 play-off final. He then spent a season in League One before departing following the club’s relegation, having made 248 appearances and scored 25 goals for Morecambe.

Having helped Morecambe defeat Newport County in the 2021 play-off final, Wildig joined the Exiles the following year, returning to South Wales. He went on to make 53 appearances for Newport before leaving in January 2025 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury. He subsequently made the transition to part-time football after accepting a career opportunity away from the professional game. Wildig later took on a player-coach role at Gloucester before his departure

His move to Met sees him reunite with former Newport teammate James Clarke. Clarke retired from professional football earlier this year before stepping into the semi-professional game, where he now holds a coaching role with Met. The pair will once again line up together, having previously shared the pitch 41 times during their time at Newport.

State of play at Cardiff Met

It’s been a summer dominated by departures at Met, with Spencer Dymond (Larkhall Athletic) the club’s only new signing so far.

Several players have moved on to league rivals, including Jake Morris and Kelland Absalom, who have both joined Cambrian United. Matt Chubb has signed for Briton Ferry Llansawel, while Lewis Rees has moved to Haverfordwest County. Liam Walsh has dropped down a division, rejoining Aberystwyth Town.

Other departures include Matt Richards, Tim Ap Sion, Sam Seager, and Dixon Kabongo.

Met have now discovered their Cymru Premier fixture list, with their season set to begin on August 1 when they host newly promoted Holywell Town.