According to french reports...

[Mr Fulham]

....we have signed Benfica and Algeria international defender Rafik Halliche.
Halliche is set to travel to London to complete his move and to undergo a medical at Motspur Park.

http://www.lebuteur.com/en/actualites/halliche-en-route-vers-fulham


His profile:
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/rafik-halliche/profil/spieler_67815.html

[os5889]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafik_Halliche

Rafik Halliche (born September 2, 1986 in Algiers) is an Algerian footballer who currently plays for C.D. Nacional in the Portuguese first division on loan from S.L. Benfica, as a central defender.
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In the January 2008 transfer window, NA Hussein Dey's Halliche received interest from a number of French clubs, namely AJ Auxerre and Valenciennes FC. However, on January 30, he signed a four-year contract with Portugal's Sport Lisboa e Benfica, which immediately loaned him to fellow league outfit C.D. Nacional until the end of the season.
On March 30, 2008, Halliche made his debut for Nacional coming on at halftime in a 2–0 home league win against União de Leiria. He would go on to make two more appearances as a starter for the club before going back to Benfica at the end of the loan, which was then extended for the entirety of 2008–09, and also the following.
[edit]International career

Halliche made his debut for Algeria on May 31, 2008 against Senegal, coming as a substitute for Anthar Yahia in the 75th minute.
On November 18, 2009, he played – and started – in the decisive tie-breaker against Egypt for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, as the national side won 1–0 in Sudan and returned to the FIFA World Cup 24 years after its last presence.
Halliche was also summoned for the 2010 African Cup of Nations, in Angola; he kept the national side's qualification hopes alive after scoring the only goal in a win against Mali, after a loss to Malawi in the opener. In the semifinals, a 0–4 loss to eventual winners Egypt, he was sent off still in the first half after being given two yellow cards, the last one also resulting in a penalty.[1]
Halliche was picked to represent Algeria in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, playing all the matches and minutes as the national side only conceded two goals in the group stage, but ranked last after failing to score once.[2]

[os5889]

I love Wiki, it seems this guy has scored 1 goal in 0 appearances for Benfica, what a player!

[Lighthouse]

A Central Defender? Why would we want him unless Senderos is out for some time.

[os5889]

On another note Diomonsy Kamaras Facebook status was cheering PSG's victory yesterday and laughing at Marseille losing to a promoted team. recently his updates have gone a bit french  :dft005:

[Mr Fulham]

A Central Defender? Why would we want him unless Senderos is out for some time.

Because Hughes wants to have two decent CB backups - one for Hangeland (Senderos) and one for Hughes (Halliche). I think he sees Baird more as a defensive midfielder - and I think he's right with that assessment.

Baird played his best football as a midfielder.

[mattiesafer]

A Central Defender? Why would we want him unless Senderos is out for some time.

Because Hughes wants to have two decent CB backups - one for Hangeland (Senderos) and one for Hughes (Halliche). I think he sees Baird more as a defensive midfielder - and I think he's right with that assessment.

Baird played his best football as a midfielder.

yes, he's actually developed a great eye for a pass too!

[Lighthouse]

I just can't believe we can afford two goodish subs only ever having a game in cups and through injury. Hope that's true though. Agree about Baird, we still need a box to box player. Plus a few forwards. Nice to talk about players and not managers.

[sipwell]

The article says that they still need to negotiate over a contract (and a work visa). The article also says that Sparky is willing to give a young player a chance as a basic player if he makes enough progress and he is the best man for the position. He wants to take it step by step, like his father (who was a big name in Algerian judo) and develop into some kind of a role model for Algerian football.

He's picking the right club then ;-)

[LRCN]

hate to rain on anyone's parade but i cant see how he'll get a work permit. only 20 caps for algeria and unless they all came in the last 2 years he won't get it.

[Mr Fulham]

hate to rain on anyone's parade but i cant see how he'll get a work permit. only 20 caps for algeria and unless they all came in the last 2 years he won't get it.

They came in the last two years. He's still only 23 years old.

[ToodlesMcToot]

hate to rain on anyone's parade but i cant see how he'll get a work permit. only 20 caps for algeria and unless they all came in the last 2 years he won't get it.

He started every World Cup match for Algeria. Even if he hasn't quite made the 75% rule, the argument could easily be made that he's become integral to their international plans and that an exception should be made.

This argument has been successful getting U.S. players a work permit.

[LRCN]

that's true, but it's not always 100% when that happens, didn't it happen to some us player a few years ago (convey or something)?

hate to rain on anyone's parade but i cant see how he'll get a work permit. only 20 caps for algeria and unless they all came in the last 2 years he won't get it.

They came in the last two years. He's still only 23 years old.

ha, yeah i read that on wikipedia after i put my post up, so yeah he will get a work permit.