Cardiff City's Roko Simic joins Karlsruher SC on loan
Cardiff City striker Roko Simic is on the move once again. The 21-year-old former Croatian youth international – once valued at €10m – will feature for Karlsruher SC in the 2. Bundesliga next season. The Fächerstadt will serve as the seventh professional club Simic has represented in his young career. Germany counts as the sixth country in which he's played.
Simic began his career with Lokomotiva Zagreb in his native country before moving to RB Salzburg in July 2021. The German Red Bulls loaned him out twice, once to Austrian second division outfit FC Liefering and another time to FC Zürich in Switzerland. Cardiff purchased Simic from Salzburg for €2m in August 2024, immediately loaning him out to Belgian outfit KV Kortrijk.
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A premature termination of the loan did enable Simic to make two Premier League Cup appearances for the Cardiff reserves in the current 2025 calendar year, but the Welsh side had no real use for him despite their relegation from the EFL Championship to League One. In the past, German clubs Hamburger SV and VfL Bochum have been linked with a move for him.
Transfermarkt.de reports that the KSC have secured a purchase option as part of the deal.
GGFN | Peter Weis
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