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Etien Velikonja: Hoping for Cardiff chance
Slovenian international Etien Velikonja believes he has a future at Cardiff City.
The 25-year-old joined Cardiff in the summer of 2012 from Maribor and signed a four-year deal, with the Welsh club paying more than £2million for his signature.
But Velikonja found his opportunities limited under Malky Mackay – playing in only three games.
He joined Portuguese side Rio Ave on loan in January, and he scored his first goal for them last week – but he insists that he thinks he will have a future in South Wales under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“I was happy when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed as Cardiff City manager. With his arrival I finally got a fresh start,” he told Slovenia’s Nogomania.
“For the first time in a year-and-a-half I got smart and honest answers and after that the club didn’t complicate things when I got an offer from Portugal.
“I wanted to be loaned out even last summer, but it didn’t happen back then. Even Solskjaer advised me to go on a loan so I could play regularly and return to Cardiff well prepared.
“I’m so happy that he showed such a great and positive attitude towards me. That was really nice after my bad experience with the former manager.
“My team-mates are telling me that Solskajer is doing great job so I really hope that next season I’ll be part of his team.”
