Tuesday Fulham Stuff (31/07/18)...

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Fulham sign Aleksandar Mitrovic and move closer to Alfie Mawson deal


Aleksandar Mitrovic spent the second half of last season on loan at Fulham  Credit: Fulham Football Club/Twitter

Fulham have signed Aleksandar Mitrovic on a permanent deal from Newcastle, and are closing in on a deal worth up to £20m for Swansea defender Alfie Mawson.

Mitrovic has returned to Craven Cottage on a five-year contract after the two Premier League clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.

The striker joined Fulham on loan in January and was instrumental in the club's promotion back to the Premier League.

He scored 12 goals in 17 appearances as Fulham finished third in the Championship before winning May's play-off final against Aston Villa at Wembley.

Mitrovic told fulhamfctv: "I'm very glad and happy and proud to finally be here and officially become a Fulham player. I'm happy to the moon and back.


Alfie Mawson is heading to Craven Cottage  Credit: Getty Images)

"I have love for the fans. They're amazing fans and I have a really good connection with them.

"This is a big club and last year we made history, we did big things, and I want to continue this. We want to keep making big things, and with all the fans behind us I think we can go far."

As for Mawson, the 24-year-old centre-back is due at Craven Cottage for a medical on Tuesday.




https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/07/30/fulham-sign-aleksandar-mitrovic-move-closer-alfie-mawson-deal/

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Mitrovic: 'My heart wanted Fulham'

Aleksandar Mitrovic has revealed that his heart wanted him to return to Craven Cottage – and such was his desire to make a permanent move to Fulham that he didn't talk to any other potential suitors.

The Serbian striker finally completed his drawn out transfer from Newcastle United this afternoon, signing a five-year contract at Craven Cottage to be reunited with Fulham head coach Slavisa Jokanovic. The move follows protracted negotiations between the two clubs over their valuation of the 23 year-old after Mitrovic helped fire the Whites to promotion last year.

Mitrovic quickly became a firm favourite with the fans – scoring 12 goals in 20 games as Fulham went up via the play-offs and he told FulhamFCTV of his delight at finalising his move to west London:

    I told my agent, my brother, my family that this is the only club I want to join. We didn't even talk. Especially after the World Cup a few clubs were interested but my heart wanted to come here and to continue where we stopped. I didn't talk to the other clubs. I know that I want to be here.

    Thanks to Fulham and their fans, the people who work in the club to make this come true. They were really passionate. I thought it might happen sooner [than it did]. It was not easy but in the end we did it and I'm here. I am happy and proud to officially be a Fulham player.

    When I came here I fitted into the club like I'd been here lots of years. I don't need time to settle in, I just want to play football and try to make big things with this amazing club.

The deal to bring the powerful forward to London on a permanent basis is the Premier League new boys' latest big-money capture in a summer of serious spending. Mitrovic, who is believed to have cost in the region of £20m, becomes Fulham's fifth summer signing joining fellow new recruits Jean-Michael Seri, Maxime Le Marchand, Fabri and Andre Schürrle.



http://hammyend.com/index.php/2018/07/mitrovic-my-heart-wanted-fulham/

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Brian Talbot's had 50 years in football as a decorated player, manager and now Fulham scout... this is his life tale

    Brian Talbot's remarkable 50-year footballing career continues this season
    He won consecutive FA Cups and played with Kevin Keegan and John Barnes
    Talbot also experienced success as a manager and is now a scout for Fulham
    He tells Sportsmail about the nickname Noddy and his association with Wembley

Brian Talbot left school on Friday, turned 15 on Sunday and became a professional footballer on Monday. Quite a week, even by the standards of July 1968, and the start of a remarkable 50-year career that continues into this new Premier League season.

Along the way, Talbot won consecutive FA Cups with Ipswich and Arsenal, played with Kevin Keegan and John Barnes and under Sir Bobby Robson, Don Revie and Graham Taylor, and faced Zico in the Maracana.

His managerial career was also successful, albeit at a more modest level, and now he's involved in the recruitment of players at newly promoted Fulham.


Brian Talbot's remarkable 50-year career in football continues into this Premier League season

The 65-year-old, affectionately known as Noddy, is particularly associated with Wembley, making history in 1978 and 1979 when the FA Cup final was the biggest game in England.

But his close association with the Twin Towers predates both those matches and the 1977 England v Scotland game in which he played and then claimed a piece of the Wembley turf alongside thousands of travelling fans.

'I went to the 1966 World Cup final as a 13-year-old kid. I can remember it as if it was yesterday,' reveals Talbot.

'We had tickets for some of the games, either my mum or dad would go with me from Ipswich, the Uruguay game, Argentina. Then we won one ticket for the final in a draw. One ticket only, which was a problem.


Talbot is particularly associated with Wembley, but his best memory of it predates his career


He won a ticket to the 1966 World Cup final and went on his own to watch England win

'My mum took me on the train to London and I went into Wembley to stand on the terraces on my own while she watched it on a television set in a local shop until I came out.

'I'm so grateful to her for letting me go. The atmosphere was unbelievable. You can imagine the euphoria when we won it because, let's face it, it was a close encounter. I saw a bit of Alan Ball in myself because I used to run around a lot in midfield as well. Ironically, I replaced Bally at Arsenal later on and got to know him personally. If he was still alive, he'd argue he was a better player than me and I'd have to agree! What a marvellous one-touch footballer he was.'

Watching Bobby Moore lift the Jules Rimet Trophy cemented young Brian's ambitions to be a footballer, he tells us as he reminisces in detail about half a century in the game.

Ipswich scout Reg Tyrell spotted the Tower Ramparts schoolboy who lived a 15-minute walk from Portman Road and, 24 hours after his 15th birthday, Talbot signed up as an apprentice professional.

His first manager Bill McGarry left for Wolves after four months, eventually replaced by Robson.


Talbot recalls visiting Wembley as a player after watching the 1966 World Cup final as a fan


He says watching Bobby Moore lift the trophy cemented his ambitions to become a footballer

Unfortunately, Talbot was on crutches with a broken fibula when the new manager arrived and it was several weeks before they met properly.

'He said, 'You're the young lad I'm paying and we don't even see', recalls Talbot. 'That was our first real conversation!'

Once fit, the teenager was sent by Robson on loan to Toronto Metros, to play for his friend Graham Leggat who managed the club in the North American Soccer League (NASL).

'My mum was worried about a 17-year-old going 4,000 miles on his own — it was a bit further than Wembley,' laughs Talbot. 'I was the youngest player in the league because every other sportsman at that age in North America was at college. At first, they put me in an apartment and gave me vouchers for a restaurant after training so I'd eat properly.'

Playing with grown-ups toughened Talbot. He returned after two separate spells to make his First Division debut aged 20 as Ipswich beat Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor. And he kept his place after that. Ipswich emerged as a major force through the decade under Robson, culminating in a 1-0 win in the 1978 FA Cup final against favourites Arsenal.


Talbot (right) broke into Ipswich's side at the age of 20 in the early 70s after two loan spells


They emerged as a major force through the decade and he won the FA Cup with them in 1978

Arsenal were undoubtedly the bigger club with star players but we felt that we were the better team and if we played well, we'd win,' emphasised Talbot.

'Bobby put David Geddis on their left back Sammy Nelson to stop the supply line to Liam Brady. You didn't realise until you played with or against Liam how great he really was, but that day we stopped him. We should have won by more than 1-0.'

The following season Talbot left Ipswich and joined Arsenal, the team he'd just defeated at Wembley.

'I knew there was a chance of it happening before the final,' he says. 'Arsenal were watching me and though Manchester City were offering more money, I wanted to live in London and move my career on.

'Come the end of the game it was just a case of when the move would go through. It ended up being the following January but it happened. It suited everybody because Bobby signed Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen for Ipswich and they started to play a different way.

'I had a great time at Arsenal. I moved to Brookmans Park where my new manager Terry Neill lived and I'm still there 40 years later!


The following season Talbot left Ipswich and joined Arsenal, the side he'd just beat at Wembley

'We won the FA Cup in 1979 and reached the European Cup- Winners' Cup final. The only disappointment was we didn't challenge for the title. We only needed one more top player but then sold Brady and Frank Stapleton. Both were hard to replace.'

Talbot's finest hours were helping Arsenal beat Manchester United 3-2 in 'the four-minute final' — Arsenal had comfortably led 2-0 until the 87th minute in the 1979 FA Cup final — and scoring the winner in a marathon FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool that went to three replays the following year.

'In 1979, I was on the edge of the box when Alan Sunderland scored the winner in the last minute,' he recalls. I was grateful we scored because I think we'd have lost in extra time. United had the momentum coming back to 2-2 but thankfully their goalkeeper Gary Bailey made a rick and Sundy was there.'

By then, Talbot's England career was already effectively over. He had played in the last four internationals of the Don Revie era in 1977 but hopes of a longer run disappeared the night Revie walked out on the England job to become manager of the United Arab Emirates.


His finest moment for Arsenal was scoring a winner against Liverpool in an FA Cup semi-final

'I was Revie's man and played in his last game. There was talk then of a change of manager and maybe he decided to jump before he got pushed. Ron Greenwood took over and told me and Ray Wilkins we'd be given an opportunity. Ray got his chance and played well for England, but I didn't.'

Talbot was selected just once more, for a shadow team against Australia in 1980, but his brief England career was still memorable. 'We went to South America in the summer of '77 and drew with Brazil, Argentina — who won the World Cup the following year — and Uruguay.

'In Argentina, I swapped shirts with Ossie Ardiles. He was world-class, sharp and quick, but I'd still just take Liam Brady because he could do the unexpected and score match-winning goals.'

Talbot also played in the eventful Home International in 1977 which Scotland won 2-1 before the Tartan Army invaded the pitch at full time, digging up the grass and tearing down the crossbar.

'It was a bit frightening. We got off the pitch quickly but I remember going back out later after everyone had gone to get a bit of turf to take home,' reveals Talbot.

'I put it in my bag and left, and gave it to my mum and dad to put it in their back garden. Crazy when you remember the little things you did.'

Talbot's playing career wound down after he left Arsenal in 1985 but still carried some highlights.

'Graham Taylor, God rest his soul, sold me the idea of going to Watford and being his captain. I'm glad I went because it taught me a lot about coaching and getting the best out of players and staff.

'John Barnes and Luther Blissett were outstanding but Graham got the most from other players through organisation.

'My next two clubs were Stoke and West Brom. West Brom was enjoyable under Ron Atkinson. By going down a level, I could still dominate games.'

As a manager, Talbot lost his first job at West Brom with assistant Sam Allardyce when they were humiliated in the FA Cup by non-League Woking. A top job never followed, though Talbot had success in Malta, winning two league titles with Hibernians, and then taking Rushden & Diamonds from non-League into Division Two (now League One).

'I loved my seven years at Rushden. I would put it on a par with Arsenal in terms of enjoyment,' he says. 'It was a fantastic journey with the chairman Mr Griggs of Doc Marten. It's a terrible shame the club don't exist any more.'

Talbot left Rushden in 2004 but it proved far from the end. Stints followed at Oldham, Oxford and back in Malta, and since 2011 he has worked for Fulham.

His official title is assistant director of football operations, reporting to owner Shahid Khan's son, Tony. Essentially, Talbot oversees the scouting department.

He was back at Wembley in May to see the club beat Aston Villa 1-0 in the Championship play-off final and admits: 'It was more nerve-racking than playing because you're not in control,' he says.

He also goes back as a member of FA disciplinary panels who sit at Wembley. 'The commission meetings overlook the pitch. I find myself gazing down, the memories flooding back,' he says.

'I am a little disappointed that the Twin Towers have gone because they were known all around the world, but Wembley is still special. I still love going there.'

July 22, 1968 was the day it all started for Talbot at Ipswich. Plenty has changed in the game over 50 years, but not everything.

'My dad started the nickname Noddy at the age of three or four because I had Nods slippers, Nods books, Nods everything,' he says.

'It stuck at school and then in the dressing room. Whenever I see old team-mates like Paul Mariner from Ipswich or Pat Rice at Arsenal, it's still, 'Hello Noddy'. Even at 65 years old!'



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6008219/Brian-Talbots-50-years-football-decorated-player-manager-Fulham-scout.html

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Swansea defender Alfie Mawson set for medical at Fulham as he edges closer to completing a £20m move while Welsh club line up Aberdeen's Scott McKenna as his replacement

    Swansea defender Alfie Mawson is expected to sign for Fulham on Tuesday
    Mawson is set to leave the Championship side for an initial fee of £15million
    Swansea are lining up Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna as a replacement

Swansea defender Alfie Mawson is expected for a medical at Fulham on Tuesday after the clubs agreed a fee worth up to £20million.

Mawson is set to leave Swansea for an initial fee of £15m, which may eventually rise to £20m with add-ons.

The 24-year-old made more than 70 appearances for the club that finished 18th in the Premier League last season.


Fulham are looking to seal a £20million deal for Swansea central defender Alfie Mawson

He joined Swansea for £5m in 2016 after having impressed while playing for England at under-21 level.

Swansea are keen on Aberdeen defender Scott McKenna and he would be considered a replacement for Mawson should that deal happen.

Meanwhile, Fulham signed Aleksandar Mitrovic from Newcastle on a five-year deal and are interested in Harry Arter of Bournemouth.


Fulham have completed the signing of striker Aleksandr Mitrovic for £20m from Newcastle



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6008637/Swansea-defender-Alfie-Mawson-set-medical-Fulham-ahead-20m-move.html

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Cottage Talk Extra: Breaking News Analysis - Aleksandar Mitrovic
Take a listen to a podcast that focuses on Fulham Football Club.

In this episode, we analyzed the signing of Aleksandar Mitrovic for Fulham. Co-hosting this episode was Yannis Tjanetis and Max Cohen from The Boot Room.

to listen to the podcast follow the link...
https://cottagersconfidential.sbnation.com/2018/7/30/17632398/cottage-talk-extra-breaking-news-analysis-aleksandar-mitrovic

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Fulham should reignite their interest in Bryan as Celtic look to hold firm on Tierney

Celtic are set to dismiss Fulham's £25m interest in left-back Kieran Tierney, as they refuse to sell any more players before the end of the transfer window, according to the Herald.

What's the story, then?

The report claims that the Scottish champions will hold firm and maintain the stance that has allowed them to keep Scottish international Tierney all summer and fend off interest from Craven Cottage.

They reportedly do not wish to sanction any departures ahead of the defence of their title this season and Everton are named as one potential suitor for the full-back who have already been seen off this summer.

Fulham were linked with Bristol City left-back Joe Bryan back in June and last week, it was reported that he is the subject of a £6m chase involving clubs at home and abroad.

Bryan is a cheaper, more realistic left-back target

Following the departure of Scott Malone last summer, Ryan Sessegnon moved forward into the left-wing role he thrived in during the promotion campaign but the end of Matt Targett's loan spell has created a conundrum for Slavisa Jokanovic.

Reports claim that the Serbian is willing to pay £8m for the Southampton man, but Bryan is a cheaper and better alternative, who provides attacking intent and solid defending.

Tierney is a pie-in-the-sky target now; Celtic have proved their resolve, the player is not going to force a move and bigger clubs than Fulham have already given up the ghost. Bryan is the man Jokanovic should go back to.



https://www.footballfancast.com/scottish-premier/celtic/fulham-should-reignite-their-interest-in-bryan-as-celtic-look-to-hold-firm-on-tierney