Monday Fulham Stuff (30/07/18)...

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Fulham Close In On English Defensive Ace: A Smart Move By Jokanovic?

According to a recent report by Express, Fulham are set to lure Swansea City centre-back Alfie Mawson to the Craven Cottage for £25million. Apart from the Cottagers, their Premier League rivals Burnley and West Ham United have also been monitoring Mawson closely but Fulham's latest offer seems to have done the trick for Slavisa Jokanovic's side.

Premier League Re-entry

Under the stewardship of Jokanovic, Fulham paved their way to the top-flight by defeating Aston Villa in the Championship playoff final. In order to beef up the quality of his side, with the club due to face the elite English clubs this season, he has already completed the signings of Jean Michael Seri, Andre Schurrle, Fabri and Maxime Le Marchand. In all fairness, Fulham already look like a formidable side on paper.

Owing to Swansea City's relegation from the top flight, Mawson is expected to be tempted by the opportunity to switch to a Premier League side. The 24-year-old is still recovering from his ankle surgery that he had to undergo at the end of the previous campaign. He is expected to miss some games in the early stages of the 2018-19 season but that hasn't stopped Fulham from pursuing the player.

Mawson: A Proven Player

Signed by the Swans in the summer of 2016 from Barnsley, Mawson has certainly proven that he is more than capable of plying his trade amidst the animosity that Premier League offers. In 38 league appearances last season, he managed to score 2 goals and register 1 assist. Besides, he mustered 0.8 tackles, 0.9 interceptions, 5.8 clearances and 0.8 blocks per game on an average.

Attributes

Mawson is a calm and composed figure at the back and owing to his height, he is a threat in the opposition box during set-pieces. He is a tough tackler and an astute reader of the game. He carries the ball out from the back with his precise passes, thus laying the foundation for his side's offensive movements. Besides, he has plenty of experience under his belt.

Will He Be A Shrewd Signing for Fulham?

The Englishman has seen his career graph carving an upward trajectory over the past few seasons. He would certainly be an exciting addition for Fulham and would bring in healthy competition for the likes of Tim Ream and Marchand for a place in the starting XI. He has his best years ahead of him and should fit in perfectly under Jokanovic's tactical nous.



https://madaboutepl.net/2018/07/fulham-pip-burnley-to-emerge-as-front-runners-to-sign-alfie-mawson/

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Fulham Inch Closer To Landing Swansea City Defender: A No-Brainer For Jokanovic

Fulham, under Slaviša Jokanović, missed out on Premier League promotion back in 2016-17 despite clinching a playoff place but maintained their resilience last term and defeated Aston Villa in the Championship play-off final last season, to return to the English top tier for the first time since being relegated in 2014. The Cottagers, meanwhile, have surprised many with their spending splurge and they are now close to signing Swansea City centre-back, Alfie Mawson, as reported by Sky Sports.

Mawson, a young English talent, is no short of suitors and the Swans, being relegated to the Championship, are holding out for more than £20m to sanction his departure, which could be finalized in the upcoming days. Jokanović had a stable central defensive duo last season in the form of Denis Odoi and Tim Ream both of whom are in their 30s,

So, he is eyeing a youthful individual with Premier League expertise. The 24-year-old former England U21 international progressed through the non-league and lower league sides of English football and was a low-key signing for the Welsh outfit following only four league outings for Barnsley in the second tier. However, he soon emerged as a first-team regular due to his calm and composed nature at the back and played his part in Swansea escaping a relegation scare a couple of seasons back.

Although the Swans failed to script a similar escape last term, Mawson maintained his reputation in deep defence and was one of the brightest sparks of an underperforming squad. The 6 ft 2 in centre-back is energetic, focused, reads the game well and covers a lot of ground to offer support to his fellow defensive resources.

He is a threat from indirect set-pieces and also has impressive passing attributes – both long balls as well as short passes. Mawson prefers to play the ball out from the back and dribble past the opponents to build the game up from a deeper role over making long clearances – a distinguished attribute that suits Jokanović for the brand of football he has offered in his managerial realm.

Fulham have already roped in Nice duo Jean Seri and Maxime Le Marchand, ex-Besiktas custodian Fabri along with former Chelsea wide attacker Andre Schürrle on a two-year loan deal from Borussia Dortmund. Seri and Schrulle, in particular, are high-profile recruits who will boost their midfield as well as attack significantly, yet the Cottagers must wrap up a deal for Alfie Mawson at the earliest in order to make them competent enough to retain their top-flight status for the years to come.



https://the4thofficial.net/2018/07/fulham-inch-closer-to-landing-swansea-city-defender-a-no-brainer-for-jokanovic/

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Fulham to land Newcastle's Aleksandar Mitrovic for £22million then pursue £25m-rated England defender

Promoted Londoners close to signing last season's loan star permanently and have their eye on Swansea's Alfie Mawson

Fulham will finally end their long-running pursuit of Aleksandar Mitrovic — and then push to land Alfie Mawson.

Newcastle striker Mitrovic is in the capital finalising a move, and is due to undergo a medical before sealing a £22million move early this week.

Boss Slavisa Jokanovic wants the Serbia World Cup striker to figure in Wednesday's friendly with Sampdoria to get him up to speed ahead of the new season.

And Mitrovic could be joined at Craven Cottage by Swansea's Mawson, with Fulham now increasingly confident of winning the race for his signature.


Mitrovic scored 12 goals in 17 league games to help Fulham go up via the play-offs (Image: Getty)


Mawson was called up to the England squad for March's friendlies (Image: Getty)

West Ham and Burnley have declared an interest in the £25m-rated defender. But Mawson wants to return to hometown London and believes Fulham's eye-catching style will help progress his game.

Jokanovic has yet not given up on Southampton left-back Matt Targett — like Mitrovic, a promotion-winning loanee last season.

The Cottagers chief is willing to pay £8m in order to continue his club's summer signing spree.



https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/fulham-land-newcastles-aleksandar-mitrovic-13000926

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Fulham hoping to capture £25million signing of Swansea's Alfie Mawson ahead of Premier League season

    Alfie Mawson is valued at around £25million and is keen on a move to London
    Mawson was the standout performer in a difficult campaign for Swansea
    Fulham are finalising a £22m deal with Newcastle for Aleksandar Mitrovic

Fulham hope to wrap up an agreement with Swansea City for defender Alfie Mawson early this week.

The England U21 international is valued at around £25million and is keen on a move to London.

The 24-year-old was the standout performer in what was a egregious campaign last term for Swansea, which culminated in their relegation to the Championship.


Fulham are looking to seal a £25million deal for Swansea defender Alfie Mawson

ulham have done smart business so far this summer and Mawson would again be a huge coup for the Premier League new boys.

The Craven Cottage club are finalising a £22m deal with Newcastle United for striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and have discussed a possible move for Wolfsburg's 27-year-old French midfielder Josuha Guilovogi.

Mitrovic left the Newcastle's training camp in Porto on Saturday night after the two clubs agreed a fee for the 22-year-old and will undergo a medical on Monday.

The Serbian striker was a key player for Slavisa Jokanovic's side last season, having scored 12 goals in 20 games.

Jokanovic has been keen to sign Mitrovic on a permanent basis all summer and now appears to have finally got his man.


Fulham are on the verge of completing a £22m deal for Newcastle's Aleksandar Mitrovic



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6004997/Fulham-hoping-capture-25million-signing-Swanseas-Alfie-Mawson-ahead-Premier-League-season.html

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How Fulham are slowly becoming a force to reckon with

Fulham played amazing football throughout last season and were awarded promotion to the top flight after a gruelling playoff game. Everyone expected them to be one of the sides battling it out in the relegation side of the league table. But the Fulham board of directors have other ideas and have built a squad this summer capable of earning them a Europa League spot, if not more.

Competition for Europe is intense in the Premier League with the top six teams battling it out to play in the Champions League, but the current project at Fulham has the look of the title-winning squad of Leicester City. Here is why Fulham will surely be battling it out with the Premier League heavyweights for a place in next season's European competition.

Retaining a winning core:

Fulham have not gone out and bought every player they could find. They have not messed up with their squad. It is very important to retain a good core group of players to take the club to the next levels.

Tom Cairney will lead Fulham in the Premier League this season

For example, AC Milan almost bought an entire team of new players last season and many believed that they will fight it out with Juventus for the Scudetto, but they had a disastrous season considering the investments they made. They did not have a core and even handed over the captaincy to a new signing, Leonardo Bonucci.

Having stuck to Tom Cairney as their captain, they have a made a wise decision as he was the one who held the group together during the mid-season crisis, where they were out of the playoff spots in the championship table. He has a special connection with the fans, and having put faith in him will have pleased their fans immensely.

Other players part of the retained core group include Tim Ream who had an exceptional season and was a rock at the back for them. With the youngster Ryan Sessegnon also likely to be present at Craven Cottage next season, they have a solid core raring to go and take Fulham to the next level.

Being Intelligent in the transfer market:
However remarkable a team has been in the Championship, it is always going to be a different game in the Premier League, and it helps to have a few players with the good amount of experience playing in the top flight of genuinely any league in Europe for that matter.

They have brought in Jean Michel Seri from Nice, having struggled last season without a proper hard tackling midfielder. Seri will give them a creative edge as well and has improved the squad for Fulham without the club having to let go of an important player. Cairney and Seri will hold the fort excellently next season for Fulham.

They have made an excellent purchase in Andre Schurrle, a World Cup winner, and he has played for the likes of Dortmund and Chelsea. He will fill in a big void at Fulham with the club having struggled to find a decent goal scorer, resulting in Fonte shouldering almost all the goal-scoring burden.

With Alfie Mawson and Mitrovic in line to join the club in the coming week, Fulham has a squad that could prove to be a thorn in the side for the big clubs, and if they could string a few decent results together, they are surely on their way to play in Europe next season.



https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/how-fulham-are-slowly-becoming-a-force-to-reckon-with?key=newsnow