Sasa Kalajdzic’s return to the Bundesliga is now only a matter of time: Wolverhampton coach Gary O’Neil confirmed the loan deal on Friday evening
Frankfurter Eintracht’s interest in Sasa Kalajdzic was well known, as was the fact that a transfer was being negotiated. But for a long time there was no official confirmation. Now there is: “Sasa will move to Eintracht Frankfurt on loan in the next few days,” said O’Neil on Friday evening after Wolverhampton Wanderers’ FA Cup game at Brentford FC (1:1) and confirmed that agreement had been reached on almost everything.
The two-meter Austrian had once made a name for himself in the Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart (22 goals in 51 games) and then moved to England to join Wolves in the summer of 2022. There, however, his career came to a standstill. Just three days after his transfer, he suffered a cruciate ligament rupture on his debut in the Premier League. He made eleven appearances in 2023/24, but mostly only as a substitute.
“He didn’t get the minutes he wanted,” says O’Neil, who blames himself for “not finding a way” to use the striker enough to help Wolves. “At the moment he needs match practice – and he wants to go and play.” The Austrian had committed himself to Frankfurt early on, where he would certainly like to increase his chances of participating in the European Championship – he can only do that if he plays regularly.
In any case, his chances of getting enough playing time in Frankfurt do not seem bad, especially as the Hessians were looking for a striker after the last-minute departure of Randal Kolo Muani in the summer. In addition, Omar Marmoush and Fares Chaibi, who were both nominated for the Africa Cup, are the two top scorers for the time being, while Lucas Alario has left the Main metropolis for Porto Alegre.
O’Neil also hopes that Kalajdzic can gain sufficient match practice in Frankfurt and then return in good form in the summer. This statement confirms English media reports that SGE will not have an option to buy the 26-year-old. However, nothing has been confirmed in this regard