Irvin Cardona nearing shock Saint-Étienne return | OneFootball

Despite impressing during a six-month loan spell last season, proving the driving force behind AS Saint-Étienne’s promotion, Irvin Cardona’s (27) loan spell at the French club was not made permanent at the end of the season.

The operation was deemed too onerous and at 27, the forward did not fit the age profile sought by the club’s new owner, Kilmer Sports Ventures. However, the player did want to remain with ASSE and, having seen clips of him, new manager Eirik Horneland also wants to bring him back to Saint-Étienne, as per L’Équipe.

Cardona is currently on loan at Espanyol from Augsburg, however, he wants that loan to be cut short in order to facilitate a move back to Les Verts. This time, however, he does not wish to join on loan but instead sign a permanent deal with the Ligue 1 side.

Negotiations have been ongoing for a week with the forward already informing Espanyol of his desire to leave. The Spanish side had a purchase option of €1.8m. Saint-Étienne want to negotiate a deal with Augsburg that is below that figure. ASSE want to complete Cardona’s return within 48 hours in order to allow him to face FC Nantes next weekend.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle