Kenwyne Jones: Cardiff striker completes loan move to Al Jazira

Cardiff City's Kenwyne Jones has joined Al Jazira in the United Arab Emirates on loan until the end of the season.

The 31-year-old striker joined Cardiff from Stoke in January 2014 and is one of the club's highest earners.

Cardiff will receive a loan fee from Al Jazira for the duration of the loan, and the Abu Dhabi-based club will pay all his wages.

Jones, whose deal with Cardiff ends in June, said on Twitter  he moved because he "wasn't offered any deal" to stay.

"This decision was made based on the opportunities presented to me," he added in a statement.

"I would like to say thank you to the Bluebird staff and players - I wish them all success in their future endeavours."

With Jones departing Cardiff, reports from the Netherlands suggest the Bluebirds have agreed a few with Eredivisie side Heracles for 23-year-old striker Wout Weghorst.

Jones, a Trinidad and Tobago international, scored 19 goals in 67 appearances in all competitions for Cardiff and looks to have played his last game for the club.

Cardiff boss Russell Slade said on Saturday that Jones was in talks with a foreign team, adding: "It's a financial decision, as he's on a huge wage here."

The Bluebirds had opened negotiations in September over extending the striker's contract, and Slade reiterated in November that he wanted him to stay.

Jones was the Bluebirds' top scorer with 13 goals last season, despite spending the final six weeks of the campaign on loan at Bournemouth, helping them win promotion to the Premier League.

He has scored five times this season but was left out of the squad for Saturday's home match with Blackburn, which the home side won 1-0.

Slade said removing Jones from the wage bill will allow him to add to his squad during the January transfer window.

"I hope it will be a busy few weeks. It will be tight financially but I hope we will be able to bring somebody in," he added.

"When Kenwyne is on the teamsheet, the opposition see that he's got to be dealt with. He's a threat, particularly in the air.

"We didn't have that threat [against Blackburn] and we need to bring that threat back to the club to give us an option of being able to play a target man."

Al Jazira, based in Abu Dhabi, are 10th in the 14-team Arabian Gulf League, having won four of their 13 games this season.

Jones could make his debut in Friday's league game at Dubai's Al Wasl.

Reports from the Netherlands suggest Cardiff have agreed a few with Eredivisie side Heracles for 23-year-old striker Wout Weghorst.