Striker reveals Sunderland were ‘close’ to signing him this summer before Championship rival transfer.
Roko Simic was heavily linked with a move to Sunderland this summer.
Cardiff City striker Roko Simic has revealed that Sunderland were “close” to signing him before he completed a transfer to their Championship rivals instead.
The Croatian was one of several reported centre forward targets to be linked with a move to the Stadium of Light during the latter stages of the summer transfer window, but he ultimately sealed a switch to the Welsh capital from previous employers RB Salzburg. Since then, Simic has been sent out for a loan spell with Belgian side KV Kortrijk.
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But in a new interview with Kortrijk’s official website, the 21-year-old has suggested that he had plenty of options available to him last month – and that the Black Cats were firmly among them. He said: “Sunderland were close. My first club, Dinamo Zagreb, also wanted me. There was interest from Udinese and some other clubs, but that is no longer important. Now I’m here. And I feel good here – I feel peace and tranquillity in the club and that is important to me.”
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Cardiff are understood to have paid around £1.7 million for Simic, who registered six goals and two assists in 38 outings for Salzburg last season. At the time of writing, he has also amassed 20 caps for Croatia U21s, scoring eight times in the process.
Speaking just prior to the striker’s arrival in Wales last month, Cardiff manager Erol Bulut said: “We want quality players who can help us. We won’t just take a player who will sit on the bench, we want a player who can change a game.
“I hope I will get one in but until now we haven’t been able to manage it. What clubs are asking, what players are asking with their wages, is difficult. [Simic] is a club signing for the future. He will have a loan to Kortrijk but we still have a little bit of time to get a player in, I hope. But it’s not easy to bring only one in… it has to be the right person.”
