It was announced by the club earlier today that defender, Ryan Tafazolli has left for Lee Man Football Club of the Hong Kong Premier League, for the rest of the 24/25 season.
The centre-back, aged 33, has struggled for game time so far this campaign, with the likes of Joe Low, Declan Skura, Sonny Bradley and the since departed Caleb Taylor keeping him out of the squad. Wycombe’s transfer business so far this January has also played a part, with the signing of Anders Hagelsjkaer, adding to their ranks and possibly pushing Taf down the line in terms of choice.
He has also been plagued by injury, only playing five games so far this season, only one of those being in the League where he featured in Wycombe’s first home game of the season, a 3-2 loss against Birmingham. Tafazolli’s last appearance in a Wycombe shirt was their Vertu Trophy tie against Swindon, in which he started.
Starting his career with the Southampton Academy in 2005, he successfully captained his side during his time with the U-18 team and the reserves.
He also spent time with Mansfield and Peterborough, making a combined 210 appearances.
Ryan joined Wycombe joined from Hull City in September of 2020 following their relegation from the Championship, joining recently promoted Wycombe following their successful playoff final against Oxford, in the midst of the Gareth Ainsworth era.
The defender flourished under Ainsworth, scoring a goal against MK Dons in the play-off semi-finals in 2022. He has made 128 appearances in his three years for Wycombe, scoring ten goals.
Speaking on Tafazolli’s departure, CFO Dan Rice said “Ryan’s game time here has been limited” and the loan move was a “brilliant chance for him to explore a new opportunity and get more minutes”.
He also expressed that the club will be “monitoring his progress” and wish him good luck for the rest of the season.
He joins the current Hong Kong Premier League Champions, who are currently at third in the league, and relatively new, only being founded eight years ago in 2017, with the aim of promoting football within Hong Kong. Last season, the ‘Golden Dragons’ became the second unbeaten title-winning team.