Cardiff City and KV Kortrijk are contemplating a premature recall for Roko Simic, who joined the Championship club in the summer but has struggled since a loan move to Belgium.
That’s according to Kortrijk manager Freyr Alexandersson, who has revealed a new injury setback for the teenage striker and hinted at the potential of his loan being terminated in January, as reported by WalesOnline.
Simic joined for Cardiff late in the transfer window as a surprise acquisition for the Welsh club. The 20-year-old frontman joined Cardiff on a four-year deal following a reported £1.7 million deal from Red Bull Salzburg, but despite the side’s goalscoring woes, he immediately walked across to KV Kortrijk, who are a member of Vincent Tan’s business empire had Isaak Davies, Sheyi Ojo, and Ryotaro Tsunoda all on loan last season.Simic was expected to replicate Davies’ improvement in Belgium and return to Cardiff as a more refined player ready to lead the line in the 2025/26 season. Davies, an academy product, scored 12 goals for the Belgian top-flight strugglers last season, and Simic was expected to have a similar impact, but the move has proven disastrous for all involved, and a recall now appears to be the most likely course of action moving into January.
Cardiff City may recall Roko Simic from the horrific KV Kortrijk spell.
Cardiff are expected to use Simic as their starting striker next season, thus decisions over Simic’s immediate future will undoubtedly be made. That might well take the shape of a recall, which would benefit all sides given how the move has played out, and Alexandersson revealed that those negotiations are underway after being questioned on the subject.
The Icelandic boss stated, “They’re talking about it; I’m not sure how it will go. Depending on how long this is, it’s an odd injury to say the least. It is really intricate, and they are continually working on it.
“He will be gone until January, for sure. It might even be longer. “We must maintain constant communication.”
When asked about the initial hoopla surrounding the deal, Alexandersson responded, “Yeah, and then you get nothing. It is not his fault. It didn’t work out, and we’d have preferred another outcome.”
Roko Simic’s loan move to KV Kortrijk from Cardiff City
Simic, who had a strong reputation for Salzburg and even opened his UEFA Champions League account in 23/24, appeared to be the ideal striker to lift Kortrijk from the bottom of the standings, where they struggled and nearly avoided relegation the previous season.
Given how well Davies performed there, it appeared that the deal would also benefit the Bluebirds in the long run.
However, Kortrijk has continued to suffer and is now again facing relegation, while Simic has played little role in the proceedings. The Croatia youth international has only made four appearances, starting one of them, and has yet to score for Kortrijk. He has been out for the past month due to an unexplained ailment, which could keep him out of play beyond January. Nonetheless, it seems increasingly likely that Simic has already played his final match for Kortrijk.
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