Cardiff City’s striker transfer hijacked as medical booked

Cardiff City have suffered a monumental blow in their bid to land a striker before Thursday night’s deadline. The Bluebirds looked set to land Valerenga striker Andrej Ilic, but their deal has been hijacked.

It emerged on Tuesday that Lille had failed with a late bid for Ilic, keeping Cardiff in the driver’s seat, but the Ligue 1 club have returned with another bid, outbidding City and striking a deal.

Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has tweeted: “Understand Lille have agreed on deal to sign Andrej Ilić from Vålerenga, transfer fee around €4m package. Medical tests booked for today. Final details being sorted on personal terms, deal set to be completed.”

Cardiff were said to have bid around £3million for Ilic, meaning they were not a long way off, but it’s likely Ilic will prefer to join a top tier club, putting the Bluebirds at a disadvantage. The news may well leave City behind in their bid to add a striker before Thursday night’s deadline, with time running out quickly.