Arsenal loanee Cătălin Cîrjan isn’t exactly having a great season at FC Rapid, where he has made 18 appearances and hasn’t entered the pitch since January.
So even though the Romanian club have the chance to make his transfer permanent in the summer, they’re not expected to make that effort.
As local outlet Sport today features an interview with agent Florin Manea, who loves speaking to the press, the representative brought his opinion on the situation.
According to Manea, Cîrjan made the wrong choice by leaving Arsenal to return to Romania, as he should’ve insisted on staying in English football, regardless of the club.
“Cîrjan is back. I think he made a mistake by returning to Romania. You don’t play for Arsenal, good, you go to Bournemouth, Luton, Brentford. There are a lot of teams and you have to try to stay in the big game,” said Manea.
“That’s what I was talking to Radu Dragușin about. The level of training is incredible. The moment you drop this level and train at the intensity here, you lose a lot and it’s hard to come back. There’s a big difference between Italy and England, let alone Romania and England.”
Cîrjan arrived at Arsenal back in 2019, when signed from Romanian side Viitorul Domnesti.
He was part of the Gunners’ U-18 and U-21 squads, but never had a chance to make his debut for the first team, despite staying on the bench in a couple of Europa League games in the 2023/23 season.
This is the first time he’s been loaned out, and in case he returns to London, he still has a contract with the club running until 2025.
