Cardiff City are in talks with Valerenga from Norway to sign their striker Andrej Ilic, according to a report from Arilas Ould-Saada in TV2.
The Bluebirds have been on the lookout for a new centre-forward within this window and have shown previous interest in Bournemouth striker Kieffer Moore. Umut Nayir from Fenerbache was also a target at one stage before he decided to join Turkish side Pendikspor so the Welsh side have now turned their attention to the Valerenga forward.
Ilic scored 30 goals in 54 games last season for Valerenga and FK Rigas Futbola Skola. The Norwegian side were in this season’s UEFA Conference League qualifiers and played four times before crashing out, with the Serbian striker scoring two goals in those games.
Negotiations are now said to be underway between Cardiff City and the side from Norway’s second division. The 23-year-old striker has a current market value of £1.9 million, as per Transfermarkt. An opening bid has been made by the Welsh side, but there is no current agreement as of yet.
There are other clubs interested in the player’s signature that the Bluebirds will have to be wary of if they are to complete a deal. FK Bodo Glimt have previously shown interest, according to the report, and French club Toulouse have also registered intrigue in the player in the past.
Despite that, the current feeling is that the Championship side have the upper hand and manager Erol Bulut may finally get his wish of signing a centre-forward within the January window. The talks between the clubs are described as concrete and the bid is said to be a significant one.
In regards to the interest in Cherries striker Moore, Sunderland and Ipswich have made loan approaches for the player in recent days according to a report from The Athletic. No agreement has been reached as of yet, but Cardiff are now fully on the case of signing Ilic as opposed to trying to poach their former player.
Writer’s View
The Serbian striker has a great goalscoring record and would bring some much-needed goals to the Cardiff City Stadium. With various interested clubs around Europe, the Championship club are in good company, and it wasn’t too long ago that a certain Erling Haaland was signed by a club in Norway.
If a deal gets done between the teams, Cardiff are getting a well-rounded striker who can push them up the table in the second portion of the campaign.
