Bundesliga club FC Augsburg has successfully completed the permanent transfer of forward Irvin Cardona. According to reports, Augsburg received €2.5 million for the French player, who is joining Ligue 1 side AS Saint-Étienne. Cardona initially arrived at the German club in January 2023 for a reported fee of €1.5 million.
Cardona had a brief moment of promise for Augsburg, scoring a goal and providing an assist in just his second appearance against Bayern Munich during the 2022/23 season. However, he did not manage to score another Bundesliga goal after that.
Due to limited playing time – making only three first-team appearances in the first half of the 2023/24 season – Augsburg loaned Cardona out on three separate occasions. His first loan spell began in January 2024 at Saint-Étienne, where he found form, netting eight goals in Ligue 2.
For the start of the 2024/25 campaign, Cardona was loaned to RCD Espanyol, but this move proved less fruitful, yielding only one La Liga goal. Augsburg subsequently recalled him and sent him back on loan to Saint-Étienne for the latter half of the season. There, he once again performed effectively, scoring five goals in 15 Ligue 1 matches.
With this permanent move, Cardona becomes the first of eight players returning from loan whose future has been decided by Augsburg. Under the guidance of newly appointed head coach Sandro Wagner, the prospects for other returning players vary.
Striker Dion Drena Beljo and defensive midfielder Tim Breithaupt are among those who might potentially feature in Wagner`s plans. However, central defenders Patric Pfeiffer and Maximilian Bauer, along with David Colina, Lasse Günther, and goalkeeper Marcel Lubik, are reportedly unlikely to remain part of the first-team setup for the upcoming season.
