Lennie Lawrence said
"Kevin Donovan did well for me at Grimsby and he is the type of player we would like to bring in.
"He is an out-and-out right winger, but we would need to know he is fully recovered from injury before we would make any move.
"If he came to Cardiff City it would be initially on loan because he has been out injured for some time."
Donovan is recovering from a knee injury and still has three years to run on his contract at Oakwell.
Later in the day Yahoogroups.com have refuted the story
"Barnsley's Kevin Donovan has dismissed reports linking him with a move to Cardiff to link up with Lennie Lawrence once again.
Donovan is currently battling back to full fitness after suffering a knee injury in training two months ago and expects to be ready to take part in pre-season training.
It was suggested that he was being lined-up for a transfer to Cardiff when he regained full fitness. But Donovan insists there is no truth in the speculation.
The link has probably come about because Lawrence was Donovan's manager during his time at Grimsby Town.
The experienced winger has three years remaining on the contract he signed after joining Barnsley on a Bosman free transfer last summer and insists he is happy to stay at Oakwell."