Andrei Ivan: Welcome to Hütteldorf
After the departure of Joelinton and injuries to Philipp Schobesberger and Giorgi Kvilitaia, SK Rapid has again successfully entered into the transfer market to secure the services of Romanian Andrei Ivan. Capped six times by his country at 'A' level, Ivan joins the club on a loan basis from FK Krasnodar for the coming season, with an option to make the move permanent for the versatile attacker, who is comfortable playing as both a striker and a wide forward.
The highly rated Ivan moved from CS Universitatea Craiova to FK Krasnodar for a cool four million Euros a year ago, with the Russian outfit finishing a respectable fourth in the top flight. At Craiova, Ivan's potential was recognised early, as he was handed the captain’s armband at the tender age of 19. Standing 185cm tall, he would go on to reach a century of first team appearances, netting 18 times in the process. In the colours of his native Romania, Ivan worked his way through the youth ranks, eventually being awarded with six caps for Romania’s 'A' side.
It has been a busy summer for Sporting director Fredy Bickel, who has already brought Andrija Pavlovic, Marvin Potzman, Manuel Martic and Christoph Knasmüllner to the club. On the club’s latest recruit Bickel said the following: "We have a very talented and multi-faceted attacker joining us in Andrei Ivan. He’ll further lift the quality we have up front and can play anywhere across the front line. Two years ago, Rapid and my former club, Young Boys Bern, were both interested in bringing in Andrei, but neither managed to conclude a deal for him. Hence, I’m even more delighted that we’ve managed to agree a deal with very favourable financial terms to loan Andrei with a view to making the move permanent. Personally, I've had a lot of positive experiences with signings from Romania, as I think back to players such as Adrian Ilie and Lulian Filipescu at FC Zürich; Viorel Moldovan at Grasshoppers, or Mihai Tararache, whom I signed for both Zürich and Grasshoppers respectively."
Andrei Ivan, who becomes the first Romanian to don the famous Green & White, has passed a medical and begun training with his new team mates. On his transfer, our new number 97 (the squad number issued at the player's request) said: "After a difficult year in Russia I wanted to move and find regular playing time. I’ve spent a lot of time looking into the club, and straight after the first talks with Rapid Vienna representatives I had a good feeling. I’m excited about this new challenge, and I’m looking forward to the first game in this beautiful stadium. I'm looking to put in performances on the pitch and get back into contention for my national team."
Welcome to the club, Andrei!
(gw)