Former Cardiff back Aled Summerhill says he is in talks over a return to rugby, having spent the last year without a club after leaving the Arms Park side. The 30-year-old left Arms Park at the end of the 2023/24 season after a decade with the region, during which time he scored 32 tries in 95 appearances. He had been offered a hugely reduced contract offer to stay with Matt Sherratt's side into the next campaign but chose to turn it down and move on to pastures new. With the ongoing financial issues in Welsh rugby, Summerhill admitted at the time that he was taking a gamble in leaving Cardiff , but remained determined to continue his career in professional rugby. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. In a new interview, the utility back has revealed he was on the lookout for deals in France and Japan in the weeks following his exit, but he decided to look closer to home after his wife became pregnant at the end of last summer. While no move has transpired since, Summerhill says he is currently talking to a "couple of clubs" over returning to the game at either professional or semi-professional level. Opening up on his exit from Cardiff on the WRRAP Welsh Rugby Podcast , the former Wales U18 international said: "Obviously the financial situation in Wales is no secret. "The club told me they would like to keep me and it went on for a few months when I was waiting to see if there would be anything there for me. Then I had an offer, but after looking at it, me and my family decided it wasn't right for me, really. "So long story short, I didn't end up signing and I left the club. I obviously was looking for a new club, maybe in France or Japan, there were a couple of options. "But then, my wife became pregnant in August, so I was thinking I'd rather stay somewhere a bit closer to home....but nothing really came up during that time." At the start of the year, Summerhill started up his own coaching business, while he has held youth rugby camps alongside former Wales international Tom James during the school holidays. However, while a future in coaching interests him, he is determined to keep his playing career going and looks set to return to the field sooner rather than later. "I'm itching to get back now, to be honest," he said. "I've been keeping myself fit and we're talking to a couple of clubs at the moment. "That may be in the pro game or the semi-pro game, but yeah at the moment it's just staying fit and hoping something does come up. Like I said, that could be pro, that could be semi-pro, I'm just open to opportunities at the moment." On leaving his old club, where he made his debut as a 19-year-old back in 2014, Summerhill added: "Obviously, I was disappointed to leave Cardiff. I loved my time there. "I've got a lot of friends at the club as well, so it was was nice to see them doing well last season."