Friends of Fulham

Fulham confirm Armando Broja signing after deal sheet drama
Fulham have officially announced the signing of Chelsea striker Armando Broja on loan for the remainder of the season.

    Fulham have signed Chelsea forward Armando Broja on loan for the rest of the season, paying a £4m fee.
    Broja fell down the pecking order at Chelsea due to new signings, but now has a chance to prove himself at Fulham.
    Fulham beat rival suitors, including Wolverhampton Wanderers and AC Milan, to secure the loan deal for Broja.

Fulham have officially completed the signing of Chelsea forward Armando Broja on loan for the remainder of the season, with the Cottagers paying a fee of around £4m to secure his signature.

Broja's future has been up in the air during the January transfer window after struggling to make a major impact for the Blues throughout the campaign. A long-term injury has scuppered his progress, but he now has a chance to prove himself in the Premier League under Marco Silva.

Mauricio Pochettino's side brought Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson to Stamford Bridge in the summer transfer window, meaning Broja fell down the pecking order. Now, Fulham have taken advantage and stole a march on rival suitors, bringing the former Southampton loanee to Craven Cottage.

Fulham secure Broja loan deal from Chelsea
Earlier in the winter window, Chelsea were hoping to secure a permanent sale for Broja, valuing him at a whopping £50m. There were clubs showing an interest in acquiring the Albanian striker's services, but the hefty price tag was understandably a deterrent.

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed on deadline day that Fulham had secured a deal to sign Broja on loan until the end of the season, with the Cottagers paying a £4m fee to Chelsea. David Ornstein also claimed that Wolverhampton Wanderers and AC Milan were pushing to secure his signature, but Fulham ultimately won the race.

Just after the deadline had officially passed, Nizaar Kinsella reported that Fulham had submitted a deal sheet before 11pm in order to complete the transfer. The capital club have now officially announced that a deal for Broja has been completed.

Fulham's current attacking options have been disappointing so far this season in the Premier League. Raul Jimenez tops Silva's side's goalscoring charts with just five strikes, with backup centre-forward Carlos Vinicius finding the back of the net twice.

Fulham failed with move for winger
According to Italian journalist Romano, Fulham made a late approach to try and sign West Ham winger Said Benrahma. However, the 28-year-old has already flown to France to complete a move to Ligue 1 outfit Lyon, with a deal set to be announced in the final hours. However, in the final hours of the night, Romano reported that a deal between Lyon and Benrahma had collapsed at the final hurdle.

Although Silva hasn't secured the signing of an additional winger, Broja will give the Cottagers another dimension in attack, and he certainly has something to prove after a disappointing campaign with Chelsea.



https://www.givemesport.com/armando-broja-fulham-transfer-news/

Fulham finally complete Broja loan
Fulham have finally completed the protracted loan deal to bring Armando Broja from Chelsea until the end of the season.

The local rivals had been negotiating for much of January to ensure that Marco Silva's top target arrived at Craven Cottage – with the signing becoming all the more vital after Raul Jimenez strained his hamstring in the midweek draw against Everton. The 22 year-old's short switch along the Fulham Road was ratified by the Premier League after the Whites had submitted a deal sheet as they were unable to complete all the paperwork that accompanied Broja's change of registration before the 11pm deadline.

Broja, who had an unsuccessful train as a child at Motspur Park, rejected a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers once Chelsea and Fulham had reached agreement on the terms of the loan on Thursday. He joins Fulham having scored his only Premier League goal of an injury-hit campaign at Craven Cottage for Chelsea in October – with the Cottagers able to pay no loan fee for his services should he start more than half of their games between now and the end of the season.

Broja, who has spent time on loan at Vitesse Arnhem and Southampton earlier in his career, told FFCTV:

"It feels amazing. I'm really happy to be here and I can't wait to get started, meet the players and manager and play for the fans. The fans always play a big role and I can't wait to go to Craven Cottage and meet them all. I'm going to work hard for the team and create a real bond. I'm really honoured and excited to be here."

The Albanian international could make his Fulham debut at Burnley on Saturday.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2024/02/fulham-finally-complete-broja-loan/

Fulham complete the signing of Chelsea striker Armando Broja on loan until the end of the season... with the Cottagers only paying an initial £750,000 to borrow the Albania

    Fulham have completed the signing of Chelsea striker Armando Broja on loan
    The striker underwent his medical at the club on Thursday night before signing

Fulham have completed the signing of Chelsea striker Armando Broja on loan until the end of the season, penning a complex deal which could equate to £4million.

The Albania striker underwent his medical at the club on Thursday night before signing for the Cottagers on loan until the end of the season.

Fulham will pay an initial £750,000 to loan Broja, but the fee could rise to £4m depending on a complex appearances and performance payment structure.

Chelsea initially wanted a deal worth £50m for Broja this month on either a permanent or a loan with an obligation to buy.

But those conditions changed dramatically this morning after it emerged Chelsea would accept a £5million loan fee for Broja.

(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/02/00/80758051-13035935-Fulham_have_completed_the_signing_of_Chelsea_striker_Armando_Bro-m-33_1706834824962.jpg)
Fulham have completed the signing of Chelsea striker Armando Broja on loan until the end of the season, penning a deal which could equate to £4million
 
(https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/01/18/80743299-13034447-image-a-22_1706810858394.jpg)
Marco Silva ensured the Whites beat Wolves to the signing of the 22-year-old striker

Even then, however, Fulham and Wolves - who were also interested in Broja - refused to meet Chelsea's asking price.

Fulham made a breakthrough in discussions and will pay a maximum of £4m for Broja - but the expectancy is the Craven Cottage club will pay significantly less provided the 22-year-old plays regularly between now and the end of the season.

Mail Sport previously reported that Gary O'Neil and Wolves' recruitment team were big admirers of the Albanian forward.

Broja has scored twice in 19 appearances for the club this season, after having made his return from an ACL injury that had kept him sidelined for almost a year.

The forward was an unused substitute on Wednesday night, as Chelsea were beaten 4-1 by Liverpool at Anfield.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13035935/Fulham-complete-signing-Chelsea-striker-Armando-Broja-loan-end-season-Cottagers-paying-initial-750-000-borrow-Albania.html

Transfer deadline day 2024: Premier League January spending down by £715m compared with 2023
Spending by Premier League clubs in January dipped significantly after three successive record-breaking windows - with teams splashing out £715m less than in the 2023 winter window.

The combined outlay of the 20 top-flight clubs was £100m - the lowest January spend in a non-Covid season since £60m in 2011-12 - and vastly lower than last year's spend of £815m, according to financial services firm Deloitte.

Just £30m in disclosed fees was spent on deadline day, another considerable drop on the £275m spent on the same day 12 months ago.

There were only 17 permanent transfers made by Premier League clubs during the window, with a further 13 loan deals - including seven permanent and six loan deals on deadline day.

Despite the relatively modest January total the 2023-24 season still has the second-highest transfer spend ever, with £2.5bn shelled out across both transfer windows - driven by clubs' record-breaking expenditure in the summer.

Other notable numbers include:

    English Football League (EFL) spending during the window fell to £15m compared to £25m in January 2023
    Spending across the rest of Europe's 'big five' leagues - Italy's Serie A, Spain's La Liga, France's Ligue 1 and Germany's Bundesliga - rose to £388m from £218m in the January 2023 window
    Ligue 1 clubs had the highest gross transfer spend among Europe's 'big five' with expenditure of £162m, followed by the Premier League (£100m), Serie A (£85m), Bundesliga (£70m) and La Liga (£70m)
    It is the first January window since 2019 that the Premier League was not the biggest spending league globally - and first window since summer 2011 that it was not Europe's biggest spending league
    Spending by Saudi Pro League clubs was significantly lower in this January transfer window (£21.3m) compared to the £853m spent in the summer 2023 window.

Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said: "After record-breaking spending in the last three transfer windows, Premier League clubs' spending this January has been subdued.

"The more prudent approach is likely driven by the high level of spend invested during the summer window but may also have been influenced by a heightened awareness of the Premier League's financial regulations and the potential repercussions of non-compliance.

"Securing the highest quality player talent remains pivotal for Premier League clubs, but we've seen in this window that retention has been of higher priority than attraction."

(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/976/cpsprodpb/771C/production/_132529403_charts2.png)

Financial rules have chilling effect
The charges hanging over Everton and Nottingham Forest for allegedly breaching the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) are likely to have had a chilling effect on spending.

Under the top-flight's PSR, clubs are only allowed to make losses of £105m over a rolling three-year period.

The Toffees were deducted 10 points in November for breaching the league's financial rules in their 2021-22 accounts, with the club having appealed against the decision.

Everton and Forest were then charged last month for alleged breaches in their 2022-23 accounts, with their cases due to be dealt with before the end of the season.

Why else is spending down?
There are other factors that may have helped to suppress spending, including:

    Quiet month in foreign leagues, including Saudi Arabia - so there is less money sloshing around the market
    New Uefa cost controls which came in this season - clubs competing in Europe must limit spending to 90% of club revenue, reducing to 70% by 2025.
    Only two manager changes this season - compared to 11 last year, means fewer new managers are looking to bring in their own players
    Back-to-back record windows - means squads are naturally stronger so do not require significant investment
    Spending typically lower in January - the record spend of 2023 is the exception rather than the rule when compared to spending in previous windows
    Emergence of young players - clubs are utilising their academies more rather than bringing in talent, with players such as Conor Bradley, Lewis Miley and Oscar Bobb establishing themselves in their senior sides.

Will spending continue to fall?
"I think what we are storing up is a spending circus in the summer because there has been so much pressure on these clubs," Professor Rob Wilson, football finance expert at Sheffield Hallam University, told BBC Sport.

"We have seen the news about Everton and their 10-point deduction, the additional charges for Everton and Nottingham Forest and the pressure the huge amount of Premier League is under from the government with regards to an independent regulator, so everybody is a bit scared about what to do right now.

"Managers and sporting directors will be looking keenly at their PSR calculations to see if they can spend a bit more heavily in the summer.

"You'd imagine that the spending will be much heavier in the summer - I just don't necessarily think it will reach those multi-billion pound levels we have seen in years gone by."

Calum Ross, assistant director in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said: "The domino effect created by high-value transfers and a desire to improve on-pitch performance ahead of the final part of the season are usually key drivers of transfer spending, but this hasn't been reflected in January's subdued transfer window.

"As we move towards this summer's window, and a new financial year, we expect to see spending return to similar levels we have seen in the last two record-breaking summer transfer windows."
Winter transfer window spending season by season

(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/976/cpsprodpb/EC57/production/_132530506_deloitte3.png)

What deals were done on deadline day?
The biggest permanent deal of deadline day was Crystal Palace's capture of Blackburn midfielder Adam Wharton for an initial £18m, potentially rising to £22m.

That is in sharp contrast to the biggest deal on deadline day in January 2023, which was Chelsea's then-British record £107m deal for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica.

Aston Villa signed forward Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough in a deal worth £8m that could rise to £15m. Villa also signed Australia keeper Joe Gauci from Adelaide United and full-back Lino Sousa from Arsenal, with the England Under-19 international immediately joining Championship side Plymouth on loan.

Other notable deadline day deals include:

    Rodrigo Ribeiro from Sporting to Nottingham Forest on loan
    Maxime Esteve from Montpellier to Burnley on loan
    Lorenz Assignon from Rennes to Burnley on loan
    Enes Unal from Getafe to Bournemouth on loan
    Mason Holgate from Everton to Sheffield United on loan
    Armando Broja from Chelsea to Fulham on loan.

What were the biggest transfers in January?
The most eye-catching deals were high-profile loans, such as Kalvin Phillips' move from Manchester City to West Ham, Borussia Dortmund re-signing England winger Jadon Sancho from Manchester United and Eric Dier moving to Bayern Munich from Tottenham.

Tottenham made the biggest permanent signing of a low-key window, bringing in 21-year-old Romania defender Radu Dragusin from Italian side Genoa for £25m. They also signed Germany striker Timo Werner on loan from RB Leipzig until the end of the season.

A lot of the other permanent deals involved young players, including 19-year-old Argentine winger/full-back Valentin Barco joining Brighton from Boca Juniors for £7.9m and Manchester City signing Argentina Under-17 midfielder Claudio Echeverri from River Plate.
Number of permanent Premier League January signings window by window

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68174872

Burnley predicted team to face Fulham as Vincent Kompany faces striker conundrum - gallery
After the drama of transfer deadline day, the focus returns to on-the-field matters as Burnley face a must-win encounter against Fulham.

Jordan Beyer, Hannes Delcroix and Charlie Taylor all remain doubts after missing the midweek 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Vincent Kompany did, however, suggest one of three could be back in contention for tomorrow's return to Turf Moor.

Elsewhere, Luca Koleosho and Nathan Redmond remain long-term absentees.

With that in mind, here's how we think the Clarets could line up:

1. GK - James Trafford
The stopper will be keen to keep a much-needed clean sheet after being given a busy evening at the Etihad in midweek.

2. RB - Vitinho
The Brazilian full-back will be hoping to enjoy a much quieter evening than the one he encountered against Jeremy Doku at the Etihad.

3. CB - Dara O'Shea
It was a tough evening against City, but O'Shea has been one of Burnley's most consistent performers in recent weeks.

4. CB - Hjalmar Ekdal
Ekdal is likely to start again, unless Burnley are able to get Jordan Beyer or Hannes Delcroix back from injury.

5. LB - Ameen Al-Dakhil
The Belgian did relatively well at left-back in midweek, even bagging his first goal for the club.

6. CM - Josh Brownhill
The skipper will need to deliver another big shift in the middle of the park if the Clarets are to get the victory they so badly need.

7. CM - Sander Berge
Berge was in impressive form against Fulham during Burnley's win at Craven Cottage, getting on the scoresheet in their 2-0 win.

8. RW - Johann Gudmundsson
Will need to have much more of an impact after disappointing against Man City in midweek.

9. LW - Wilson Odobert
Scored last time out against Fulham, but will need to be much better than he was against City on Wednesday night.

10. ST - Zeki Amdouni
Should have done much better with his big chance against City. At threat of being dropped if Kompany hands a first start to David Fofana.

11. ST - Lyle Foster
Fans would love to see Foster paired with David Fofana up top, but will it happen? I'm not sure it will, not from the start at least.




https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/burnley-predicted-team-to-face-fulham-as-vincent-kompany-faces-striker-conundrum-gallery-4501589

Goalkeeper looking to impress at Ross County while on loan from Fulham
GOALKEEPER George Wickens says he is determined to take his opportunity of playing first team football while on loan at Ross County.

The 22-year-old arrived in Dingwall during the January transfer window from Fulham on a loan deal until the end of the season.

He played for Ross County in the 1-0 defeat against Celtic last Saturday and kept his place in the starting line-up in the 2-2 draw at Livingston on Tuesday.

Wickens says he is relishing the chance of playing in the Scottish Premiership while on loan with the Staggies, who face St Johnstone at the Global Energy Stadium tomorrow.

He says he was having a frustrating time at Fulham, but is determined to take his chance while on loan at the Staggies.

"Over the last 18 months I haven't played an awful lot of football, for reasons at Fulham, which has been frustrating," said Wickens.

"I only played a handful of games for Fulham's under-21s this season – maybe three or four.

"It was obviously tough coming here. One of the big things for a goalkeeper to build confidence is playing games.

"When I was playing once on average every three or four weeks, it was hard to build that.

"I was fortunate enough to be able to come up here and get an opportunity. I'm just taking each game as it comes, and getting in the right sort of mindset for the games."

Wickens is one of seven loan players at Ross County who have all been in the starting line up in the matches against Celtic and Livingston. He was one of six players who arrived during the January transfer window.

He arrived along with Brendon Khela from Birmingham City in addition to Cameron Borthwick-Jackson from Slask Wroclaw, Loick Ayina from Huddersfield Town, Eli King from Cardiff City and Teddy Jenks from Forest Green Rovers were also brought to Dingwall during the window last month.

They arrived with Will Nightingale from Wimbledon who came in on loan at the start of the campaign when Malky Mackay was still in charge of the club.

Wickens says with players coming from outside Scotland, it has been a chance to bond more and form a good team spirit.



https://www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk/sport/goalkeeper-looking-to-impress-at-ross-county-while-on-loan-f-340955/

Beyer, Delcroix & Taylor: Burnley injury update ahead of must-win Fulham clash
Vincent Kompany is hopeful of having one more player back from injury for Burnley's must-win clash against Fulham tomorrow.

Jordan Beyer, Hannes Delcroix and Charlie Taylor were all absent from Burnley's squad for their midweek 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Kompany has so far declined to provide any details on their absences and the extent of any knocks picked up.

However, speaking ahead of tomorrow's return to Turf Moor, the Clarets boss did suggest there could be some positive news for at least one of the three.

"Maybe one of the names you mentioned [could be back], but for the rest I don't know," he said.

"Everyone got their load on Wednesday night and we have our training session on Friday leading into Fulham and that's when we'll have the complete picture."

Kompany added: "It didn't look like we picked up any injuries [from the Man City game], so for us it's just about making sure we get the recovery spot on.

"It looks like the team is ready to go to Fulham."

Elsewhere, Luca Koleosho and Nathan Redmond remain long-term absentees.

As for Fulham, Harry Wilson is struggling with a shoulder problem while Raul Jimenez and Issa Diop both have hamstring issues.

Adama Traore is out with a thigh injury, while Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey are still at the African Cup of Nations with Nigeria.



https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/beyer-delcroix-taylor-burnley-injury-update-ahead-of-must-win-fulham-clash-4501528

'Very excited'... Director overjoyed to sign really 'talented' player from Chelsea
Fulham Sporting Director Tony Khan has given his verdict on Armando Broja after signing him from Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea.

Broja joined Fulham from London and Premier League rivals Chelsea on the final day of the January transfer window.

So, what has Tony Khan said about Armando Broja? Let's take a look.

Armando Broja joins Fulham on loan from Chelsea
Well, Chelsea decided to send Armando Broja to Fulham on loan on the final day of the January transfer window.

Fulham have announced on their official website that they have secured the services of Broja on a loan deal until the end of the season.

As we reported on HITC, Chelsea were initially looking for an obligatory clause of £40 million, but the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners eventually lowered their demands.

Tony Khan reacts
As you can see below, Fulham Sporting Director Tony Khan is over the moon to have signed Armando Broja from Chelsea on a loan deal.

Khan seems to rate the 22-year-old Albania international striker very highly.

Broja is a very talented player and is rated highly by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.

There have been injury issues for him in the past, but the youngster is fit and available now.

It will be interesting to see how Broja does at Fulham in the coming weeks and months.

The 22-year-old will hope to hit the ground running at Craven Cottage and make an immediate impact on the team.

Broja made six starts and seven substitute appearances in the Premier League for Chelsea this season. He scored one goal in those games.

The striker has made 58 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. Broja has scored eight goals in those games.

Fulham are 13th in the Premier League table now with 25 points from 22 matches.



https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2024/02/02/very-excited-director-overjoyed-to-sign-really-talented-player-from-chelsea/

Broja 'can't wait to get started'
New signing Armando Broja says he 'can't wait to get started' after finally signing for Fulham on loan from Chelsea in the small hours of the morning.

The Albanian international's loan move to Craven Cottage required a Premier League deal sheet to be ratified after negotiations between the near neighbours took most of deadline day, but Broja couldn't hide his delight at making the short journey along the Fulham Road when he sat down to talk to FFCTV:

"It feels amazing. I'm really happy to be here and I can't wait to get started, meet the players and manager and play for the fans. The fans always play a big role and I can't wait to go to Craven Cottage and meet them all. I'm going to work hard for the team and create a real bond. I'm really honoured and excited to be here.

It's not easy when there's a lot of talk around you. I had multiple conversations with my family, with my agent and I just felt like Fulham was the best club that would suit me. They've had some good number nines here before: Mitrovic was here and I know they've got [Raul] Jimenez, but he picked up the injury – for me it was an easy one. I spoke to my parents and said to them that I want to go there, help the team as much as possible and score us much as possible. It was an easy one for me.

I was here when I was seven, I trialled for a bit here as well – I remember the facility a little bit and it is a familiar place for me. It's just down the road. Craven Cottage is amazing. It is really close to the pitch, you can feel the atmosphere from the fans. It is really close to Chelsea, so there's always that competition and rivalry, but it felt amazing. I've watched a lot of clips and games that Fulham have played this season. I like the way that they play, they play some really good football and I feel I can show everyone what I'm really about here.

I know I have come back from a big injury but I want to stake my claim again. I'm really looking forward to showing I can push on and help out the team as much as I can, score as many goals as possible and getting assists. I want to woke my socks off the team and help the manager. I want to try and be a really good model, a really good person and a really good player as well."



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2024/02/broja-cant-wait-to-get-started/

'Official offer' made to sign Fulham player – Out of market, but 'negotiations continue'
Galatasaray have made contact to sign Fulham's Carlos Vinícius, according to a late claim.

The winter market in Turkey is open until February 9th, allowing their clubs to make new signings even though the window in the UK closed on Thursday.

Ajansspor state the Istanbul club are looking for a striker and the Fulham player has emerged as a surprise candidate.

It's claimed Galatasaray have made an 'official offer' to Marco Silva's side. Their proposal is to sign the 28-year-old on a loan deal with an option to buy, but the report makes no mention of the fee for the purchase option.

A Spor journalist Emre Kaplan took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share an additional update on the Turkish club's pursuit of the Brazilian.

He explains that Galatasaray have made 'important progress' in this operation and the 'negotiations continue' to sign Vinícius before the window in Turkey closes next Friday.

The South American has made two league starts this season. On deadline day, Fulham signed Armando Broja from Chelsea and his arrival could see Vinícius drop further down the pecking order. This may convince Marco Silva's side to accept Galatasaray's offer.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/official-offer-made-sign-fulham-player-negotiations-continue-deal-outside-winter-market/

Bundesliga club CEO 'could only laugh' at reports of Fulham dropping deadline day bid for 25-y/o
Stuttgart CEO Alexander Wehrle 'could only laugh and shake his head' at reports of Fulham firing a deadline day bid for Silas.

The Cottagers were in the market for offensive reinforcements, eventually agreeing to land Armando Broja on loan from Chelsea.

"I was sitting in Stuttgart CEO Alexander Wehrle's office on Deadline Day when it was reported that Fulham had made an offer for forward Silas (25)," the Bundesliga reporter told CaughtOffside in his exclusive column. "The Stuttgart boss could only laugh and shake his head at this news."

The Bundesliga hitman has enjoyed a more than respectable tally of nine goal contributions in 19 games – at a rate of one goal or assist every 92.22 minutes.

The numbers around Broja
It's a move that should suit all parties involved given the Albanian's limited game time at Stamford Bridge over the past two campaigns.

The former Southampton loanee did enjoy a reasonably prolific campaign for the Saints during his time on the south coast in 2021/22, registering 10 goal contributions in 38 appearances.

An important addition also in light of Raúl Jiménez's hamstring injury concern, with the former Wolves man potentially set to be sidelined for weeks.

No Silas for now, though Marco Silva's men have still successfully secured an exciting forward talent in time for the remainder of their campaign.



https://www.caughtoffside.com/2024/02/02/bundesliga-ceo-laugh-report-fulham-bid/

Fulham's single January deal feels too little, too late
So, Armando Broja is finally a Fulham player. The deal to take the Albanian international went through in the wee small hours of Friday morning after weeks of wrangling between the Whites and Chelsea. There can be no doubt that Raul Jimenez's injury in midweek made the acquisition of a new striker non-negotiable because, as good as Marco Silva is, he could be expected to keep the side competitive by relying on only Rodrigo Muniz and Carlos Vinicius up front.

Silva, who surprised many of us by signing a new contract at Craven Cottage even after an uncertain summer that saw Fulham fail to replace Aleksandar Mitrovic having lost the struggle to keep the Serbian, was clear about how crucial bringing in a new forward was during his press conference yesterday afternoon:

"It is not just because Raul got injured, but last summer we sold a striker for a big amount of money and were not able to replace him. Until now we have not been able to sign another one. It was important last summer and from the beginning of the window. I said three weeks ago that I expected a quiet window, I was speaking about a financial point of view and feedback from the club. It was not possible. One thing is what we need, and the other is what is possible. Sometimes they are not together. We are trying to reinforce our attack line, not just one position."

The threadbare nature of Fulham's squad was underlined by the fact that Kristian Sekularac, a talented under-21 winger, was drafted onto the bench against Everton in midweek following Harry Wilson's shoulder injury. With Adama Traore still struggling with a hamstring complaint of his own, Silva is shocking short of wide players given how much his system depends on the effectiveness of inverted wingers. Willian remains a class act, but he is 35 and looked completely knackered after an hour in midweek, whilst the versatile Bobby De Cordova-Reid is currently Fulham's only option on the opposite flank at present.

Nobody can claim that Fulham were unaware of the need to bring in back up on the flanks because they made late approaches for any number of players. The frenzied search for a forward took them across Europe before they managed to negotiate a deal for Broja – despite Tony Khan memorably claiming that he 'can't be in the business of developing other people's players' when he made some fairly wounding comments about Ryan Sessegnon four years ago – whilst they tried to hijack Lyon's move for Said Benrahma and failed with an audacious attempt to sign the immensely gifted Rayan Chekri. A swoop for Silas reduced the Stuttgart CEO to laughter as well. It all felt like a last-minute trolley dash when signings earlier in January could have strengthened Silva's hand and might have even helped Fulham progress in the cup competitions.

It is true that there were fewer deals done in January than normal with the top flight clubs all treading carefully to avoid PSR problems, but Fulham have always pushed things to the brink when it comes to deadline dealings. Some of that is a search for value, yet it is also an inevitable consequence of the club's director of football holding multiple positions in other businesses. Nobody can doubt Tony Khan's enthusiasm for Fulham but Silva's quest to turn London's oldest club into a competitive force in the top flight has been undermined twice this season. The Whites failed to build on their remarkable return to the top flight in the summer – and you can hardly say the manager has been backed in this window either.

Careful husbandry of the finances is one thing but Fulham's FFP predicament is a result of frenzied recruitment during the yo-yo period. The club's hierarchy have serious questions to answer not only in how they have supported a superb manager, but in terms of what they communicate to a fan base that is rapidly falling out with absentee owners. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that when it comes to recruitment things can only get only better.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2024/02/fulhams-single-january-deal-feels-too-little-too-late/

Are "second-choice" players treated too harshly?

Fulham have only recently shaken off the tag of being a yo-yo club. Over the past six years, we have been promoted three times. As a result of each of them, there's been pressure to get new players in the squad in order to succeed at the highest level. Fulham has spent £209 million in total over the last three promotion seasons.

A by-product of that activity has typically been that certain players who managed to get us promoted in the first place are immediately deemed not good enough for the top division. Marco Silva, however, has proven this is not the case. He's brought the best out of those players and proven that they have the quality to thrive in the Premier League.

Despite this, an agenda against what could be deemed as "second-choice" players still exists. Could this level be considered too harsh?

Give them time

Tim Ream is a perfect example of a player who's been unfairly scapegoated in our Premier League campaigns in the past. Under both Slaviša Jokanović and Scott Parker, our two centre-back partnerships have been revised by bringing in Alfie Mawson and Maxime Le Marchand in 2018/19 and Joachim Andersen partnered with Tosin Adarabioyo for the 2020/21 season.

Ream saw more game time in the former season, starting 65% of games, but saw that plummet under Parker, starting in just 18%. This is a drastic change from starting in 95% of games in the Championship seasons prior to these. He became viewed among fans as too much of a liability when facing Premier League sides. Silva clearly has more trust in him, only purchasing Issa Diop in 2022, who would end up joining him in the back line. Silva has let Ream show he's capable of managing the pressure of the Premier League despite his age as he started every game that he wasn't injured last season. Ream went from a player who was classed as not good enough to becoming a regular starter. Second-choice players need to be given more respect and more of a chance.

Revival

Another player who many thought was one the wane is Tom Cairney. TC has gone from an impact sub to one of the most important players in the starting XI. Since signing in 2015 alongside Ream, TC has thrived, scoring 45 goals in 306 appearances. But to his dismay he's been cursed with knee and foot injuries. His time away has meant people have forgotten how essential he is to Fulham's success.

(https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Picture-1.png?ezimgfmt=ng:webp/ngcb1)
(Tom Cairney statistics in the league)

Similarly to with Ream, Silva took some time to realise Tom's importance. He received five man-of-the-match awards last term – the most of any player – despite only averaging 29 minutes a game. His composure on the ball has earned him his spot in the midfield from the off. When a player has been riddled with injuries, they need to be given more time to gain confidence and part of that comes from the fans remembering what a player is capable of. 

The problem

The issue of underrated second-choice players is particularly prominent with players who were brought in during Premier League seasons. It's often forgotten that we brought Joe Bryan in for the Premier League season under Slavisa Jokanovic, yet his stock plummeted during the top-flight campaign under Scott Parker. In his first season in the Premier League, Bryan played 71% of matches. This unsurprisingly increased to 84% in the Championship, but then declined steeply in the Premier League season under Parker to 18%. And yet he still didn't get much game time in the Championship under Silva, only playing 28%.

Parker favoured Antonee Robinson and Ola Aina, which is understandable given their ability. What is harder to comprehend, however, is the reason as to why fans believe he lost a lot of his ability to play football. The problem isn't the fact that other players are starting ahead of him, it's the fact that people feel we're at a massive disadvantage with him on the pitch even in the Championship.

High standards

When a player hasn't had as much game time, it's never an easy task to immediately come to grips with the style of play or compete to the same intensity, and yet so many players are expected to do so.

Michael Hector played a crucial part in our promotion under Parker after he cleared it off the line in the first leg of the play off against Cardiff. He started in the first three games of the Premier League, only to have one substitute appearance after that. He did, however, play in four cup games, which is where he received most criticism. It was after a particularly cold (literally) defeat against Burnley, in the FA cup, that he was written off.

Even though we know he can play at Championship level, again, people felt that, within a year, he became a much weaker footballer than before when he played in the same division under Silva. Even though he only played five games under Silva, he was expected to pick up on the same play style and game plan as another manager. The standards are too high for players who have played little-to-no football prior.

There's no denying that Fulham have had issues relating to strikers this season. Originally, the debate between who started consisted of just Raul Jimenez and Carlos Vinicius; Muniz wasn't even in the conversation. This is down to the fact that he was constantly in the shadow of Mitrovic in the Championship and had a loan spell at Middlesborough the season after where he only played just 889 minutes. Muniz has almost surpassed this figure already this season.

Despite this, whenever called into action after the absence of Mitrovic, he delivered. His goals-to-minutes ratio in the 2021/22 season was just short of Mitro's at 0.0102 compared to 0.0112. Muniz has shown positive signs this campaign through performances against Ipswich and Man United by proving he arguably has the best hold up play out of the three options. This goes to show that second choice players aren't always a worse option and may even be the best option.



https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/post/2024-02-02-are-second-choice-players-treated-too-harshly/

Armando Broja Joins Fulham From Chelsea in Loan Deal That Could Cost £4m
Chelsea forward Armando Broja has joined Fulham on loan until the end of the season.

The 22-year-old had featured in 13 of Chelsea's first 22 Premier League games of the season, with his only goal coming in a 2-0 win against Fulham in October.

Broja will wear the no.9 jersey for his new team and could make his debut away at Burnley on Saturday.

The loan deal does not include an option for Fulham to sign Broja permanently in the summer.

According to ESPN, Chelsea will receive a loan fee of £4 million - but only if Broja starts in fewer than 10 of Fulham's next 16 Premier League games.

No loan fee will be due if Broja makes 10 or more EPL starts.

Broja has every chance of being a regular starter for Fulham as long as he stays fit.

The Cottagers are short of options in attack following Aleksandar Mitrovic's sale to Al-Hilal last year and a recent injury blow for Raul Jimenez, who looks set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after tearing his hamstring.

Speaking to FFCtv on Thursday night, Broja said: "I'm really happy to be here and I can't wait to get started, meet the players and manager and play for the fans.

"The fans always play a big role and I can't wait to go to Craven Cottage and meet them all. I'm going to work hard for the team and create a real bond.

"I'm really honored and excited to be here."

This is the third loan move of Broja's career. He scored 11 goals in 34 games for Dutch club Vitesse in the 2020/21 campaign, before netting nine in 38 for Southampton in the following season.

He has played 38 games for Chelsea in all competitions, scoring three goals.

Broja was born in England but plays for Albania at international level. He has so far scored four times in 17 senior international appearances.



https://www.si.com/fannation/soccer/futbol/news/armando-broja-joins-fulham-from-chelsea-in-4m-loan-deal

Vinicius set for Galatasaray medical
Fulham forward Carlos Vinicius is travelling to Istanbul today to have a medical ahead of a proposed season-long loan move.

The Brazilian striker, who had dropped to third choice striker behind Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz over the past move, has been allowed to leave Craven Cottage after Armando Broja arrived from Chelsea on loan on deadline day.

The 28 year-old has scored eight goals in 48 appearances for Fulham since signing from Benfica two years ago. Vinicius, who has made only a single league start this term, will reassess his position in London in the summer at the end of a loan where he will try to fire the Turkish giants, currently second on goal difference between Fenerbahce, lift the Super Lig title.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2024/02/vinicius-set-for-galatasaray-medical/

Burnley v Fulham

TEAM NEWS
Hannes Delcroix, Jordan Beyer and Charlie Taylor all missed Burnley's defeat at Manchester City but manager Vincent Kompany says an unnamed one of those three could return on Saturday.

Defenders Maxime Esteve and Lorenz Assignon might come into contention after arriving on loan.

Fulham have the option of giving a debut to striker Armando Broja, who has joined on loan from Chelsea.

Raul Jimenez and Issa Diop are ruled out with hamstring injuries.

Fode Ballo-Toure could return following Senegal's elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations but Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey remain at the tournament with Nigeria.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

    Burnley are unbeaten in 28 home league games against Fulham since losing 2-0 at Turf Moor in April 1951 (W22, D6). It is the longest undefeated run against an opponent at home in the Clarets' league history.
    The Cottagers have been beaten in five of their past seven Premier League games versus Burnley and are in danger of losing three consecutive fixtures against them for the first time since March 1981.

Burnley

    Vincent Kompany's side have the worst home record in this season's Premier League, losing nine of 11 matches and taking just four points.
    They have lost 16 top-flight games in the current campaign, just one fewer than their final figure when relegated in 2021-22.
    Burnley's tally of 12 points is their joint lowest at this stage of a season, equalling their total after 22 games in 1970-71 (adjusted to three points for a win), when they went on to be relegated.
    They have lost each of the last 19 top-flight fixtures in which they fell behind.
    The Clarets have scored a Premier League-high 32% of their goals from outside the penalty area this season (seven of 22), but their tally of 15 goals from inside the box is the the lowest in the division.
    Josh Brownhill is one shy of 100 Premier League appearances.

Fulham

    Fulham won 5-0 in back-to-back games in early December but have earned just one victory in their subsequent six league fixtures, failing to score five times.
    The Cottagers haven't scored in 10 Premier League matches this season, more than any other side.
    The Londoners have lost six of their past eight top-flight away games against promoted sides, with their only win in this sequence coming at Nottingham Forest last season.
    They have conceded 24 away league goals this season, matching their final total in 2022-23.
    Marco Silva's team are winless in 10 Premier League away matches (D3, L7), losing the last five in a row and failing to score in each of the past three.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68115069

Club sort out 'every issue' with Fulham for post-transfer window deal – Player expected to travel today to sign
Galatasaray have reached an agreement with Fuham for the signing of striker Carlos Vinicius, in what is likely to be a loan deal.

That's according to TRT Spor, who say the Turkish club and Fulham have reached an agreement 'on every issue' and the Brazilian is expected in Istanbul today to finalise the deal and sign his contract.

A report earlier today indicated that Galatasaray had been in contact with Fulham over the striker, with talks underway over a deal and significant progress having been made to sign the striker before the Turkish deadline closes on February 9th.

That was then followed up by an explanation from Asist Analiz, relaying information from Ajansspor, who explained that Galatasaray had made an official offer to Fulham and that was a loan deal with an option to buy.

TRT Sport now say the deal has been agreed and the two clubs have sorted out 'every issue' in regard to the loan deal.

According to their information, the 28-year-old is expected to travel to Istanbul today and sign the contract that will tie him to the Turkish club until the end of the season.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/club-sort-every-issue-fulham-post-transfer-window-deal-player-expected-travel-today-sign/

Before The Whistle: Fulham v Burnley

Could it be the battle of the young Chelsea loanee strikers this weekend?

OK, so it's hardly the most titanic of tussles, but the signing of Armando Broja means we were once again active on transfer deadline day – and we once again have a number nine.

Burnley, meanwhile, signed David Datro Fofana midway through the window, and the 21-year-old provided an assist off the bench against Man City in midweek.

The Clarets might be second-bottom of the Premier League, but they're 17th in the form table – with us a place below us in 18th. Six-pointer? You'd be arrogant to say it's not. And that's a problem. Because not only do Burnley have our number at Turf Moor – and they have done for 70 years – they also turned us over quite easily at the Cottage in December – but I'm sure we can all still remember that.

We're in the middle of a bit of an injury crisis at the moment. Raul Jimenez and Issa Diop both came off injured against Everton on Tuesday – combine that with the fact that Harry Wilson is out with a shoulder issue sustained against Newcastle and Traore continues to be side-lined, and we're stretched.

Willian will be forced to do another 90 this weekend, and veteran Tim Ream looks to be back int eh fold until Calvin Bassey returns, at the very least. And with the Super Eagles going so well in the AFCON, that could still be a while yet.

Everyone will have to dig deep if we're to get our first three-point haul from Turf Moor since... well, ever – because when we last won there, in April 1951, it was just two points for a victory. Well, all runs must come to an end sometime, don't they? You Whites.
ℹ️ MATCH DETAILS

Kick-Off: Saturday, 3.00PM
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Competition: Premier League
TV Channel (UK): None
🚦 LEAGUE FORM

Fulham: ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ⬜
Burnley: ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ⬜ ❌

⚖️ MATCH PROBABILITY

Fulham: 36.4%
Draw: 29.9%
Burnley: 33.7%
🥊 MOST RECENT MATCHES

Dec 23: Fulham 0-2 Burnley
Feb 21: Burnley 1-1 Fulham
Jan 21: Fulham 0-3 Burnley
Jan 19: Burnley 2-1 Fulham



https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/post/2024-02-02-before-the-whistle-fulham-v-burnley-2/

Gary O'Neil shares 'crazy' reason why Wolves didn't sign Armando Broja on deadline day
Gary O'Neil has revealed that Wolves did try to sign Chelsea striker Armando Broja on deadline day but were priced out of a deal by Fulham.

A striker was right at the top of Gary O'Neil's wishlist in the January transfer window but despite their best attempts to land one, Wolves end the transfer window with less firepower than they started

After letting Sasa Kalajdzic and Fabio Silva both leave on loan, the importance of improving that position increased dramatically.

But given their financial restrictions, it became difficult for them to add any players who could add real value, and Wanderers had to settle for just one arrival as Noha Lemina joined from PSG.

Thankfully, Wolves are in a better position than they were last year as their once well-documented scoring struggles have now been eliminated by the brand of football that O'Neil has rubber-stamped at Molineux.

This was prevalent once more in the defeat against Manchester United as Wolves very nearly sealed a special comeback by scoring three goals, however, their hearts were broken by Kobbie Mainoo's 97th-minute winner.

After the match, O'Neil admitted that the distraction of their clash against Man United scuppered their chances of signing a new striker.

Gary O'Neil wanted Armando Broja to join Wolves
Broja emerged as a target for Wolves in this window as they sought to sign a striker.

Unfortunately, Chelsea demanded a £5 million loan fee to take him on loan and this wasn't financially feasible for the club.

Instead, Broja joined their Premier League rivals Fulham on deadline day and details have now emerged that the Cottagers will have to pay the Blues £4 million as a maximum loan fee amount, as per Fabrizio Romano, if he starts less than 10 games.

O'Neil wanted to sign the 22-year-old but was unable to force a deal through and part of that was down to the fact Wolves had to play on deadline day while other clubs were doing business.

He said: "Playing football on deadline day is a crazy idea. Yeah, we didn't manage to get a No 9 in, there were a few I really liked but we couldn't afford any. We could afford some but not ones that I thought could help us.

"We were speaking to Chelsea for most of the day about Broja but we couldn't match Fulham. That's where we're at as a football club but we haven't been deducted 10 points."

For a striker who has only scored eight Premier League goals across his career, a huge loan fee wasn't worth capturing him.

Ultimately, Wolves have shown they have enough firepower without adding to their ranks and although an injury to a key player can soon change that narrative, not signing Broja isn't the end of the world, despite O'Neil's best attempts to sign him.



https://www.molineux.news/news/gary-oneil-shares-crazy-reason-why-wolves-didnt-sign-armando-broja-on-deadline-day/

Armando Broja pushes Fulham star out after move from Chelsea, with Cottagers attacker 'set' for imminent transfer
The arrival of Armando Broja at Fulham has had big ramifications for one of Marco Silva's other strikers, with Carlos Vinicius poised to leave England altogether.

Broja had been linked with a host of Premier League clubs earlier in the January transfer window, including West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers. But ultimately it was Fulham who won the race for the Chelsea forward, signing him on loan for the remainder of the season.

According to David Ornstein, Fulham had to fight off Wolves and AC Milan in particular to land the Albania international, who has managed just three goals in 38 appearances for Chelsea.

Fulham have agreed to pay their West London rivals a loan fee of £4million for Broja, who will compete with Rodrigo Muniz for a starting spot up front while Raul Jimenez recovers from a hamstring injury.

Broja appears to have stolen Vinicius' spot in the Fulham squad. According to the Evening Standard, Vinicius is 'set to join' Galatasaray on loan for the rest of the campaign.

The Brazilian has been deemed 'surplus to requirements' by Silva and has resultantly been placed on the loan market, with Galatasaray the first club to pounce.

Vinicius will travel to Istanbul later today (Friday) to undergo a medical. It is unlikely he will be ready to play in Galatasaray's Super Lig trip to Samsunspor tonight, though he could feature in the home clash against Bandirmaspor on Tuesday.

While the winter transfer window has closed for clubs in Europe's big five leagues, the Turkish window remains open until February 9.

This means clubs such as Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Trabzonspor could help Premier League teams by signing their unwanted players over the next week.

Vinicius will play alongside some big names at the Rams Park stadium, including Mauro Icardi, Hakim Ziyech, Wilfried Zaha and Tanguy Ndombele.



https://www.teamtalk.com/fulham/armando-broja-pushes-fulham-star-out-move-from-chelsea-attacker-set-imminent-transfer

Fulham's Smart Play: Broja Loaned from Chelsea

Fulham's Strategic Loan Move: Armando Broja Joins from Chelsea
In a notable development that is sure to excite Fulham fans, the club has successfully secured the services of Chelsea striker Armando Broja on loan for the remainder of the season. This move, expertly orchestrated by the Fulham management, not only strengthens their attacking options but also demonstrates their shrewd approach to the transfer market. Let's delve into the specifics of this transfer, originally reported by Charlotte Daly in the Daily Mail, and explore what Broja's arrival means for Fulham.

Fulham's New Forward
The Albanian international completed his medical with Fulham on Thursday night, marking the beginning of his temporary stint at Craven Cottage. Fulham's commitment to bolstering their squad is evident in the acquisition of Broja, whose loan deal could potentially cost the club up to £4 million. This agreement includes an initial fee of £750,000, with additional payments linked to the player's performance and appearances throughout the season.

Negotiation Breakthrough
Initially, Chelsea had set a lofty valuation for Broja, seeking a £50 million deal, whether through a permanent sale or a loan with an obligation to buy. However, in a surprising turn of events, Chelsea's stance softened, ultimately agreeing to a £5 million loan fee. Fulham, alongside Wolverhampton Wanderers who had shown interest in Broja, were reluctant to meet this valuation. Yet, it was Fulham who managed to negotiate a more favourable deal, with the final figure expected to be significantly less than the £4 million cap, especially if Broja features regularly in the team's lineup.

Broja's Potential Impact
Despite a challenging season marred by an ACL injury and limited appearances, Broja has managed to find the back of the net twice in 19 appearances. His potential contribution to Fulham cannot be underestimated, especially as the team looks to consolidate their position and push for higher achievements in the league. Broja's arrival is a testament to Fulham's ambition and their ability to navigate the complex dynamics of the transfer market effectively.

Conclusion
The loan signing of Armando Broja from Chelsea is a clear indication of Fulham's intent and strategy. With his proven talent and the potential for significant impact, Broja's addition could be a turning point in Fulham's season. As the team continues to integrate him into their setup, it will be interesting to see how this move influences their performance on the pitch. Credit to Charlotte Daly of the Daily Mail for shedding light on this exciting transfer saga.



https://eplindex.com/103790/fulhams-smart-play-broja-loaned-from-chelsea.html

Fulham manager Marco Silva fined £80,000 and warned
Fulham FC's manager Marco Silva has been fined £80,000 and warned as to his future conduct for a breach of FA Rule E3 following their Premier League game against Newcastle United FC on Saturday 16 December 2023.

Mr Silva admitted that his comments in the post-match media interviews following the fixture, constitute improper conduct in that they imply bias and/or question the integrity of, and/or are insulting towards the match official (Referee) and/or the Video Assistant Referee, and/or bring the game into disrepute. The sanction was imposed by an independent Regulatory Commission.



https://www.thefa.com/news/2024/feb/01/silva-fined-020224

Galatasaray Secures Fulham Striker Transfer to Bolster Attack
Galatasaray have found their replacement for departed striker Cedric Bakambu, agreeing a loan deal with Fulham for Carlos Vinicius until the end of the season. This move bolsters their attacking options alongside Mauro Icardi.

According to Aksam, Galatasaray have finalized terms with both Vinicius and his club Fulham. The 28-year-old Brazilian striker is expected to arrive in Istanbul shortly for medicals and finalize the contract signing.

Bakambu's recent departure left a void in Galatasaray's attack. Vinicius, with his experience and goal-scoring record, aims to fill that gap and contribute to the team's success.

Vinicius joined Fulham in 2022 for €5 million and has made 48 appearances, scoring 8 goals and providing 3 assists.

The loan deal allows Galatasaray to assess Vinicius' performance and explore their options for the future, while the player seeks additional playing time.

Venicius will be competing with Mauro Icardi and Halil Dervisoglu for a place up front in the team. He is expected to receive playing time rotating with Icardi who is currently first choice striker.

The Red-Yellows tend to play one striker under the management of Okan Buruk.

The Lions are in the middle of the Super Lig title race with rivals Fenerbahce and are competing in the Europa League.



https://turkish-football.com/galatasaray-secures-fulham-striker-transfer-to-bolster-attack/

Fulham now set to lose "strong" player as part of double deal
The Cottagers are set to make room for Broja in Silva's side.

Ending the window in dramatic fashion, Fulham took advantage of Chelsea's U-turn to sign Armando Broja on loan in a deal reportedly worth up to £4m. After welcoming the forward, however, the Cottagers are now reportedly set to lose one of Marco Silva's other attacking options, as a European club stop off in London as part of a double swoop.

Fulham transfer news
After putting pen to paper on the loan move, Broja told FFCtv: "It feels amazing. I'm really happy to be here and I can't wait to get started, meet the players and manager and play for the fans.

"The fans always play a big role and I can't wait to go to Craven Cottage and meet them all. I'm going to work hard for the team and create a real bond. I'm really honoured and excited to be here."

The arrival of Broja looks likely to have a knock-on effect elsewhere, however, with the London club now set to lose an attacking option after the conclusion of the January transfer window. According to Fabrizio Romano, Galatasaray have reached a verbal agreement to sign Carlos Vinicius on loan from Fulham until the end of the season in a double deal that will also reportedly see them sign Nottingham Forest's Serge Aurier.

Swapping Vinicius for Broja, Silva will hope that the latter gets firing straight away to finally hand Fulham a consistent goalscorer once more.

"Strong" Vinicius struggled at Fulham
After a year and a half at the club, Vinicius' loan move away from Fulham comes at the perfect time. Truth be told, the forward has struggled since completing the move, with Aleksandar Mitrovic's exit failing to provide the former Tottenham Hotspur man a springboard into Silva's starting role. Given the praise that Jose Mourinho once held for Vinicius, Fulham fans may have been left frustrated by his form.

Mourinho previously said via To the Land and Back during the forward's loan spell at Spurs: "He is a big boy, a strong boy, and needs to be more physical in the Premier League but I am happy. It is good for the team to have that because for example last season if Harry Kane needed a rest – we couldn't and because Vinicius is here, the squad is much more balanced."

Vinicius will now hope to rediscover his best form at Galatasaray, before potentially returning to finally make a significant impact back at Craven Cottage in the next campaign. It could be a vital few months for the striker's career.



https://www.footballfancast.com/fulham-transfer-news-galatasaray-to-sign-carlos-vinicius-serge-aurier/

Sources: Fulham prepared to allow two Brazilian players leave the club on loan
HITC understands that Fulham and Galatasaray are in advanced talks over a loan for striker Carlos Vinicius.

Despite the window slamming shut late last night, the transfer window in Turkey does not close until the 9th of February. This essentially means that Premier League clubs can still sell or loan players out but cannot replace them.

It seems Fulham are attempting to take advantage of the situation with HITC understanding that Carlos Vinicius, who is formerly of Tottenham Hotspur, will be moving to Turkish side Galatasaray.

The Turkish side look set to win the race for the Brazilian forward but sources have confirmed that multiple sides were interested in the 28-year-old striker.

Why Fulham are keen on letting him go
After the West London club confirmed the deadline day loan signing of Armando Broja, HITC understands that they are willing to allow Vinicius to leave the club on loan.

Broja, the towering forward made the short trip to the north bank of the River Thames to Craven Cottage to undergo his medical which HITC revealed yesterday.

Fulham director Tony Khan revealed on X his excitement over the signing of the Albanian: "I'm very excited that we've reached an agreement to bring Armando Broja to Fulham on loan until the end of the season."

As for Vinicius, the Brazilian is set to join the Turkish giants and could well play alongside former PSG striker Mauro Icardi and will feature in the Europa League following Galatasaray's third-place finish in a group that featured Man United and Bayern Munich.

Fulham set to allow another loan player to depart
Vinicius isn't the only South American player they are willing to allow to leave Craven Cottage on loan with the future of Rodrigo Muniz also up in the air.

HITC has also been told the club are considering allowing Muniz to move back to Brazil, with a number of clubs keen on taking him back to his homeland.

It seems that Fulham believe they have enough depth in that department to get through until the end of the season.



https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2024/02/02/sources-fulham-prepared-to-allow-two-brazilian-players-leave-the-club-on-loan/

Fulham decision to keep player will cost them money – Club were ready to pay for him in January
Fulham decided against Tosin Adarabioyo's early departure in January, according to reports from Italy.

Sky Sport journalist Gianluca Di Marzio is the one with the information, claiming that AC Milan were interested in paying for his transfer.

Quoted by All Milan, the pundit says Fulham could've sold the player instead of seeing him walk for free at the end of his contract in the summer, but chose to keep him in the squad.

"There are players like Tosin Adarabioyo whose contract will expire in June. The Rossoneri would have liked to anticipate his farewell to Fulham, but the English decided not to sell him in January. Even if, in reality, they will then lose him for zero in the summer," said Di Marzio.

Adarabioyo has 15 appearances for Fulham this season, as despite his struggle with a groin injury, he became an important player for Marco Silva for the past couple of months.

That's a pretty good reason for the Whites to decide against his January move, not to mention that there are still a few months for the parties to try to find an agreement for him to stay at Craven Cottage.

So even though Adarabioyo's future remains completely unclear, that may have been a message from Fulham's plans, although they should know Milan will now be competing to give him a contract as well.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/fulham-decision-keep-player-will-cost-money-club-ready-pay-january/

Fulham turned down AC Milan bid for Tosin
Fulham rejected a bid for centre back Tosin Adarabioyo from AC Milan in the closing hours of the transfer window, according to the Italian press.

Adarabioyo's contract at Craven Cottage expires in the summer and Fulham are hoping to convince the 26 year-old to extend it between now and the end of the season. The ball-playing defender was close to joining Monaco and Tottenham Hotspur last summer and attracted significant interest from both AC Milan and Inter Milan last month having returned to the heart of Marco Silva's defence after recovering from groin surgery.

Gianluca di Marzio told Sky Italia earlier today that the Rossoneri followed up their long-standing interest with a formal offer for the former Manchester City defender but Fulham were quick to turn it down with Marco Silva preferring to keep Adarabioyo in SW6 until the end of this current campaign – even if it ends up costing Fulham cash.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2024/02/fulham-turned-down-ac-milan-bid-for-tosin/

Marco Silva: Fulham manager fined after pleading guilty to improper conduct

Fulham manager Marco Silva has been fined £80,000 after admitting a charge of improper conduct.

He was charged after saying referee Sam Barrott "didn't have the experience to handle the pressure" following Fulham's 3-0 loss to Newcastle on 16 December.

Raul Jimenez was sent off for a foul on Sean Longstaff, but Silva was angry at an earlier challenge by Jamaal Lascelles on the Mexican.

Silva has been warned about his future conduct.

Jimenez was shown a red card after 22 minutes of the Premier League game at St James' Park for his challenge on Longstaff.

Barrott initially gave the striker a yellow card, but it was upgraded to a red following a video assistant referee review.

Silva was unhappy that a challenge on Jimenez by Lascelles went unpunished two minutes earlier.

"It was a really strange performance from the referee from the first minute to the last minute," said Silva.

"Lascelles cleared elbowed Raul and not even a foul. I'm not saying red card, but a clear foul. You need referees with experience and to be able to handle the pressure."

Asked if the referee was not experienced enough, Silva said: "Clearly, no doubt."
How to follow Fulham on the BBC banner



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68182148

Fulham and West Ham have player 'on the list' ahead of summer – 'Tailor-made' for Premier League
Fulham and West Ham United have Hoffenheim's Anton Stach 'on the list' ahead of the summer, with the player keen on a move to England.

That's according to SportBILD, who say the 25-year-old is 'tailor-made' for the Premier League and there is interest in him too.

They explain that Fulham and West Ham 'have him on the list' and there could be a deal there to be done if Hoffenheim fail to qualify for Europe this season.

He's currently valued at €15m and 'definitely wants' to play in England in the next few years if the possibility is there for him to do so.

Whether either Fulham or West Ham make a move for him in the summer remains to be seen but the opportunity is therefore them if they want it.

Fulham could definitely be on the hunt for a new number six if they eventually lose Joao Palhinha, who has long been linked with a move away from Craven Cottage and is likely to be targeted again in the summer.

West Ham makes less sense given they signed Edson Alvarez last summer and brought in Kalvin Phillips in January, so are well covered in that position as it is.

That's not stopped Premier League sides from making moves in the past, though, and Stach is a name to keep an eye on moving forwards.



http://sportwitness.co.uk/fulham-west-ham-player-list-ahead-summer-tailor-made-premier-league/

Burnley vs Fulham: A Fight for Points

Premier League Stalwarts: Burnley and Fulham's Crucial Encounter
In the intricate tapestry of Premier League football, the latest chapter unfolds at Turf Moor, where Burnley and Fulham are poised for a pivotal clash this Saturday in round 23. This match isn't just another game; it's a quest for revival as both teams strive to rediscover their winning ways in 2024.

Burnley's Quest to Escape the Drop
Vincent Kompany's Burnley, grappling with the shadows of relegation, encountered another setback in their recent 3-1 defeat to Manchester City. The Clarets' struggle is evident in their recent form – a solitary draw amidst four losses, including an FA Cup heartbreak against Tottenham. Sitting precariously at 19th with 12 points, they are a mere two points away from the bottom and five from safety, making every match a fight for survival.

Fulham's Search for Consistency
Contrastingly, Marco Silva's Fulham, positioned at a more comfortable 12th with 25 points, still face their own set of challenges. A string of unconvincing performances, culminating in a goalless stalemate against Everton, has left them winless in their last five outings. Their mid-table position belies the urgency for results, as they aim to distance themselves from the lower echelons of the league.

Historical Edge and Recent Struggles
Burnley historically holds sway over Fulham, with 49 victories in their last 100 encounters. However, Fulham's away form presents a stark contrast, having savored victory in only one of their last seven games on the road. Burnley's home record this season has been less than impressive, further intensifying the unpredictability of this encounter.

Predicting the Unpredictable
As both teams step onto the pitch, the air at Turf Moor will be thick with anticipation. Fulham, despite their unenviable record in away fixtures, are tipped as the marginal favourites. However, in the unpredictable theatre of the Premier League, forecasts often yield to the drama of the moment. The prediction leans towards a narrow 1-2 victory for Fulham, but in football, as in life, the only certainty is the excitement of the unknown.

This clash is more than a mere fixture; it's a narrative of resilience, aspiration, and the relentless pursuit of success. As Burnley and Fulham lock horns, each pass, each goal, each moment will be etched in the annals of their storied rivalry, reminding us once again why we cherish this beautiful game.



https://eplindex.com/103814/burnley-vs-fulham-a-fight-for-points.html

Vinicius goes to Galatasaray on loan
Fulham forward Carlos Vinicius has joined Galatasaray on loan for the remainder of the season.

The Brazilian striker, who has scored eight goals in 48 games for the Whites, has been signed in order to add firepower to Galatasaray's title charge. Gala currently sit second in the Turkish Super Lig, level on points with leaders Fenerbahce, and are involved in the knockout stages of the Europa League.

There is no option to buy in the deal taking Vinicius to Istanbul and the 28 year-old will reassess his Fulham future on his return to London in the summer.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2024/02/vinicius-goes-to-galatasaray-on-loan/

Vinicius Joins Galatasaray On Loan
Carlos Vinicius has joined Galatasaray S.K. on loan until the end of the season.

The striker will join up with the Turkish Süper Lig side, who currently sit second in the table and in pursuit of the title, as well as taking part in the Club's Europa League campaign.

We wish Carlos the best of luck for the rest of the season.



https://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2024/february/02/vinicius-joins-galatasaray-on-loan/

Burnley vs Fulham: Preview and Prediction

Fulham will be desperate to return to end the frustrating five-match winless run when they take on Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.
A full Premier League weekend greets us for the first time in weeks with Gameweek 23 of the 2023/24 season. The action on Saturday will get underway with the game between Everton and Tottenham Hotspur before Burnley and Fulham lock horns at Turf Moor.

Burnley will need some inspiration and an incredible turnaround in fortunes to avoid relegation from the Premier League. The Clarets have won just three of their 22 top-flight fixtures thus far this term, with 17th-placed Luton Town seven points ahead. Vincent Kompany's men went down 3-1 to Manchester City in their most recent outing.

On the other hand, Fulham's recent form is no better than Burnley's. The Cottagers have failed to win their last five games across all competitions, with the substandard run dropping them to 13th in the standings, only seven points ahead of 18th-placed Everton. So, results need to pick up for them to remain in the top flight.

The reverse fixture saw Burnley clinch a shock 2-0 win over Fulham, with Wilson Odobert and Sander Berge finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics
Burnley
Vincent Kompany does not have any new concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side's latest fixture. Against Fulham on Saturday, the Burnley manager will be bereft of the services of five first-team players.

Luca Koleosho is the most notable absentee, with the 19-year-old recovering from his season-ending knee injury. Koleosho accompanies Charlie Taylor (shoulder), Hannes Delcroix (knock), Hannes Delcroix (thigh), and Nathan Redmond (hamstring) on the sidelines.

Burnley will line up in a 4-4-2 formation against Fulham, with James Trafford taking his spot between the sticks. Taylor's absence and Connor Roberts's departure means Ameen Al-Dakhil should feature as the makeshift left-back again. He will join Vitinho, Dara O'Shea, and Hjalmar Ekdal in the backline.

As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Sander Berge and Josh Brownhill as the midfield partnership. Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Wilson Odobert should be the two wide attackers, with Zeki Amdouni and David Datro Fofana being the strikers.

Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Trafford; Vitinho, O'Shea, Ekdal, Al-Dakhil; Gudmundsson, Berge, Brownhill, Odobert; Amdouni, Datro Fofana


Fulham
Unlike his counterpart in the Burnley dugout, Marco Silva has new issues to deal with ahead of the trip to Turf Moor. The Fulham manager will be without six first-team players on Saturday afternoon.

Issa Diop and Raul Jimenez are the two absentees, with the duo picking up hamstring injuries earlier this week against Everton. Diop and Jimenez will join Harry Wilson (shoulder) and Adama Traore (thigh) on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi remain on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. But Fode Ballo-Toure is back available after Senegal bowed out of the continental competition in the Round of 16.

Bernd Leno will take his spot between the sticks, with Burnley lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him. Kenny Tete, Tosin Adarabioyo, Tim Ream, and Antonee Robinson will complete the backline, with the quartet being automatic picks.

As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Harrison Reed and Joao Palhinha in the double pivot. The duo will look to keep things tight in the middle of the park while initiating swift transitions. Finally, deadline-day arrival Armando Broja should spearhead the Fulham attack against Burnley, with Willian, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, and Andreas Pereira completing the numbers in the offensive department.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian; Broja


Key Stats

    Burnley are unbeaten in 28 home league games against Fulham since losing 2-0 at Turf Moor in April 1951 (W22 D6). That is the longest undefeated run against an opponent at home in the Clarets' league history.
    Burnley have the worst home record in this season's Premier League, losing nine of their 11 matches and taking just four points.
    Fulham won 5-0 in back-to-back games in early December but have earned just one victory in their subsequent six league fixtures, failing to score five times. The Cottagers have not scored in ten Premier League matches this season, more than any other side.
    Burnley have scored a Premier League-high 32% of their goals from outside the penalty area this season (seven of 22). But their tally of 15 goals from inside the box is the lowest in the division.
    Fulham have lost six of their last eight top-flight away games against promoted sides, with their only win in this sequence coming at Nottingham Forest last season.

Player to Watch
Armando Broja
The wait is finally over, and Armando Broja has completed his loan move to Fulham. The Albanian international was eagerly waiting for a transfer to resurrect his stuttering career, and he got that on Deadline Day of the winter transfer window.

The 22-year-old will now be eager to deliver the goods week after week, as he had done during his successful loan stint with Southampton. If he manages to hit the ground running, he can guide Fulham to a top-half finish while drastically improving his fortunes.

Prediction
Burnley 1-1 Fulham
Fulham's record at Turf Moor is abysmal, and the visitors' recent form does not boost their prospects. That said, Burnley's recent run has been dreadful, while the Clarets have a shoddy record at Turf Moor.

So, Sunday's match should be close, considering both teams are struggling heading into Saturday's contest. In the end, there might not be much to separate Burnley and Fulham, with The Hard Tackle predicting a 1-1 draw.



https://thehardtackle.com/round-up/2024/02/02/burnley-vs-fulham-preview-and-prediction/

Nigeria into AFCON semi-finals
Former Fulham forward Ademola Lookman scored the winning goal as Nigeria moved into the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations by beating Angola 1-0 in Abijan.

Calvin Bassey kept another clean sheet but headed a glorious chance over early in the second half, whilst Alex Iwobi dictated play in another promising performance. The Super Eagles, chasing a fourth African title, will play either South Africa or Cape Verde in the last four.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2024/02/nigeria-into-afcon-semi-finals/

Bond is our referee for the Fulham game
Tomorrow afternoon's home game against Fulham will be refereed by Lancashire official Darren Bond and it will be his first Burnley game this season.

Prior to last season kicking off, he'd only ever refereed us once, the League Cup tie against Leeds in 2017, but he took charge of four of our games last season, the home games against Luton and Preston and the away fixtures at Sheffield United and Middlesbrough, that game at Middlesbrough, on the night we clinched promotion, being his most recent Burnley game.

His performances in those five games see him currently in ninth place in RATE THE REF with a rating of 63.21 out of 100.

Last season, he was called up to referee in the Premier League for the first time. By the time the season ended he'd refereed four times in the top flight so his elevation to the Select Group came as no surprise last summer.

Since, he's had just one Premier League game and that was Brentford's 3-0 win at Fulham back in August when he sent off Fulham's Tim Ream. A week later he took charge of a Championship game but then went almost a month without a game. Two games came his way in September but it was December before he refereed again, presumably because of injury.

Four games in December and five in January suggest everything is now fine and tomorrow he finally steps back into the Premier League for his fifteenth game of the season. Of the fourteen to date, eight have come in the Championship, one in the League Cup and three in the FA Cup to add to the one Premier League game.

In those fourteen games there have been 64 yellow and two red cards. Of the yellows, twenty have gone to home team players and 44 to away team players. The one player he's sent off since Ream was Hull's Tyler Morton in their 3-1 loss at Sheffield Wednesday. That one was a shocking decision that was overturned on appeal.

His most recent game was at Hillsborough too, last Friday for Wednesday's 1-1 home draw against Coventry. Di'Shon Bernard and Akin Famewo were the two Wednesday players to receive yellow cards alongside all of Coventry's Liam Kitching, Jay Dasilva and Kasey Palmer.

Fourth official is Andy Davies whose only Burnley game was the League Cup win at Millwall back in September 2020. John Brooks is on VAT duty; he's refereed us twice, most recently in last season's FA Cup defeat at Manchester City.
Match Officials

Referee: Darren Bond
Assistant Referees: Marc Perry & Steven Meredith
Fourth Official: Andy Davies
VAR: John Brooks
Assistant VAR: Lee Brooks

Previous Burnley Games – Darren Bond



https://www.uptheclarets.com/bond-is-our-referee-for-the-fulham-game

Back home and searching for much needed points
The draw in our last home game against Luton Town three weeks ago has left us with only two more opportunities to complete a double over another club this season and one of those is Fulham, our visitors tomorrow.

We won 2-0 at Craven Cottage on the Saturday before Christmas with goals from Wilson Odobert and Sander Berge and, given the opposition and their Turf Moor record, it would usually be a game that we would potentially expect to win, or at least not lose.

There is no team I've seen us beat more often at home in the years I've been going on the Turf. It's twenty victories against them in the league with three more to add in the cups. There have only been three draws to add to that but way back in April 1951, approaching a year before I was born, Fulham beat us 2-0 here with two goals scored by Bob Thomas, the last time they picked up a Turf Moor victory.

I suppose it's not often they have visited us with a much better side but they certainly did in the 1997/98 Chris Waddle season and then a year later when Stan Ternent had taken charge, but we still beat them.

That record will give them no confidence but our home record this season very definitely will. In the eleven games thus far at home in the league, the opposition have nine times gone away with all three points. Only Sheffield United, who we hammered 5-0, and Luton, who got away with a point following a ridiculous goal award right at the end, have not beaten us.

I think we all know we are in a very difficult position with 12 points from our 22 games to date. The closest we've had to that in previous Premier League seasons have been 20 in both 2009/10 and 2014/15 and 17 in 2021/22, the three previous relegation seasons.

It's looking as though it is now beyond a tall order so all we can do is hope that we can start picking up some wins while those just above us continue to drop points on a regular basis.

There will be changes from the match day squad we had out at Manchester City this week. Two of the substitutes, Connor Roberts and Anass Zaroury, both of whom came on as substitutes, are no longer with us for the remainder of the season having joined Leeds and Hull respectively on loan.

They were the only two players to make temporary moves out from our first team squad, other than CJ Egan-Riley, who was surprisingly on the bench for the Luton game, and we have added to our squad since the trip to the Etihad with the loan signings of French defenders Maxime Estève and Lorenz Assignon from Montpellier and Rennes respectively.

Jordan Beyer, Charlie Taylor and Hannes Delcroix all remained out at City but manager Vincent Kompany suggested that one of them could be fit to resume although didn't give any clues as to which of the three.

A reminder that we lined up at City: James Trafford, Vitinho, Dara O'Shea, Hjalmar Ekdal, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson, Sander Berge, Josh Brownhill, Wilson Odobert, Zeki Amdouni, Lyle Foster. Subs: Arijanet Muric, Connor Roberts, Jack Cork, Josh Cullen, Han-Noah Massengo, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Aaron Ramsey, Anass Zaroury, David Datro Fofana.

Our visitors Fulham are currently thirteenth in the league with 25 points from their 22 games. They would be considerably higher if the league was based on home form; they have won all but six of their points at Craven Cottage.

Away from home it's very much a different story and only Sheffield United have won less points on the road. Their solitary away win came at Everton on the opening weekend of the season and they've since secured draws at Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Brighton. The last of those points was won at Brighton in October and they've since lost all five of their away games at Aston Villa, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Chelsea.

Back in December, they recorded successive 5-0 victories in home games against Nottingham Forest and West Ham, but the goals have dried up in the six games since. They've failed to score in five of them with the surprise 2-1 win against Arsenal three weeks ago the only time they have scored in that run.

They have, though, scored 28 Premier League goals this season which have been shared across twelve players. Raúl Jiménez leads the way with five, followed by both Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Willian who have both scored four times.

Jiménez is out of tomorrow's game having suffered an injury in their 0-0 draw against Everton against Tuesday. He could be out for a while but they moved quickly yesterday to bring in Chelsea's Armando Broja on loan.

They will also be without Issa Diop, Harry Wilson and Adama Traoré while Carlos Vinicius, who was in the squad on Wednesday, has now joined Galatasary on loan. They do have Fodé Ballo-Touré back in the squad having returned from the African Cup of Nations.

Their team against Everton was: Bernd Leno, Timothy Castagne, Tosin Adarabioyo, Issa Diop, Antonee Robinson, João Palhinha, Tom Cairney, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Andreas Pereira, Willian, Raúl Jiménez. Subs: Marek Rodák, Kenny Tete, Harrison Reed, Tim Ream, Rodrigo Muniz, Saša Lukić, Carlos Vinicius, Tyrese Francois, Kristian Šekularac.

LAST TIME THEY WERE HERE
It's just over five years since we were last able to attend a Burnley v Fulham game at home. On that occasion we fell behind to an Andre Schürrle goal in the second minute but recovered to win 2-1 with both goals coming in the first quarter of the game from Jeff Hendrick and a Denis Odoi own goal.

They've been here once since in the behind closed doors season of 2020/21 and on this occasion it was two goals early in the second half that saw the game end in a 1-1 draw.

Just four minutes into the second half we found ourselves behind. It came from a corner that was flicked on by Joachim Andersen. It bounced off Ola Aina's chest and from there found its way into the net.

Thankfully, their lead didn't last long, less than three minutes to be exact. Robbie Brady and Ashley Westwood combined to push a ball forward down the right for Jay Rodriguez who played in Ashley Barnes who seemed to take a heavy first touch with his right foot but then fired home with his left.

We kept the score at that with few concerns but with so many injuries, we really were running out of players as can be seen from the bench we were able to put out. The point kept us in fifteenth place.

The teams were;

Burnley: Nick Pope, Matt Lowton, Kevin Long, James Tarkowski, Charlie Taylor, Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson (Robbie Brady 39, Josh Brownhill 64), Ashley Westwood, Jack Cork, Dwight McNeil, Ashley Barnes, Jay Rodriguez. Subs not used: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Will Norris, Phil Bardsley, Jimmy Dunne, Anthony Glennon, Josh Benson, Joel Mumbongo.

Fulham: Alphonse Areola, Kenny Tete (Antonee Robinson 78), Joachim Andersen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Ola Aina, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Harrison Reed, Mario Lemina (André-Frank Zambo Anguissa 61), Ademola Lookman, Bobby De Cordova-Reid (Ivan Cavaleiro 67), Josh Maja. Subs not used: Marek Rodák, Michael Hector, Denis Odoi, Tim Ream, Josh Onomah, Terence Kongolo.



https://www.uptheclarets.com/back-home-and-searching-for-much-needed-points

Vincent Kompany makes unwavering claim about Burnley's survival chances ahead of must-win Fulham clash
Vincent Kompany maintains an unwavering belief that Burnley can avoid relegation, regardless of what history might tell him.

Prior to the Man City defeat in midweek, a statistic did the rounds that only one side in Premier League history had survived with the same number of points as the Clarets at this stage of the season.

Sitting on just 12 points and seven adrift of safety, the picture certainly doesn't look good for Kompany's men ahead of today's must-win clash against Fulham.

But the Clarets boss still has that belief his side can maintain their top flight status.

"That's one more team than I would have thought," he said. "But it wouldn't even matter had no-one done it before, it wouldn't change any belief or motivation in me to do it.

"It's a similar belief to what I had as a player. We're in a position where a couple of wins can make a massive difference, whereas when you're at the top like we were last year one defeat can make a massive difference.

"As long as you can manage your own energy and channel it, then it's similar in terms of pressure [to being at the top].

"Every win is just as significant. It's more the impact of a defeat. When you're competing with teams that rarely drop points, a couple of losses and you're done.

"For us we can look at the impact of defeat and what it does to a group, but if you look at the opportunity of winning, that's also something to carry forward. The opportunity to put a run together and what that could do for the club, what it could do for the league table.

"We live for those opportunities, that's all we're focused on. It will give us a chance, that's what we're working on."

Kompany added: "I always believe we can do it. That's literally the biggest part of my job. It's to transmit that belief.

"I do enjoy working with this group. I suffer like they suffer when we lose, but at the end I always wake up with the feeling of 'I want to get more'. It's something that lives within the players and has been part of the culture as well.

"Okay you can't just be there for the good times. When you have bad times we stick together and we go hard. We keep going."



https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/vincent-kompany-makes-unwavering-claim-about-burnleys-survival-chances-ahead-of-must-win-fulham-clash-4502410

Up next: Burnley (a)
You'd think that Marco Silva will be pleased to see the back of January. He joked with Sky Sports Gary Cotterill during his media duties on Thursday that he wasn't loving transfer deadline day – when the Whites only managed to bring in Armando Broja after protracted negotiations with Chelsea – whilst Fulham's form over the past month yielded three goals in seven games, a win, a draw and an exit from both domestic Cups. A pulsating goalless draw against Everton in midweek proved particularly frustrating, especially as Raul Jimenez and Issa Diop suffered hamstring strains, and Fulham's promising position in the new year – closer to mid-table and a possible trip to Wembley – has given way to worries about the bottom three.

Turf Moor is hardly a hunting ground for Fulham, either. Burnley are unbeaten in 28 home league matches against the Whites – a remarkable run stretching back to 1951 – and Vincent Kompany's side could complete a double over the Cottagers for the first time since 1981 after their impressive win at Craven Cottage before Christmas. The Clarets will require something special to stay up from here, seven points behind an improving Luton Town (who scored a controversial late leveller at Turf Moor last time out) with the Hatters having a game in hand, and Kompany will be desperate for his side to improve their woeful home record – taking only four points from eleven matches to date – as soon as possible.

Kompany, whose side have largely stayed true to his adventurous approach, went toe-to-toe with his former club Manchester City in midweek and earned plaudits rather than points in a gallant 3-1 defeat against the champions. He could call upon new loan signings Maxime Esteve and Lorenz Assignon, who have been brought in to bolster a dangerous defence, and reported no new injury concerns during Friday's press conference, suggesting that Hannes Delcroix, Jordan Beyer and Charlie Taylor – who all missed the trip to Manchester – might be able to return subject to late fitness assessments. Combative midfielder Josh Brownhill is in line to make his hundredth top flight appearance, whilst the home side's major goal threat will come from joint top-scorers Zeki Amdouni and Lyle Foster.

Silva should refresh Fulham's forward line by handing Broja, a physical striker with the sort of hold-up play that the Whites have missed since the departure of Aleksandar Mitrovic, a debut. There have to some concerns about the recent form of Andreas Pereira, who particularly struggled to hit the target against Everton, although after Kompany overhauled Burnley's direct style, the Brazilian might find more run to play between the lines this afternoon. Silva has been loathe to leave out the former Manchester United attacking midfielder, although the Whites' eagerness to dictate proceedings could be helped by including the guile of Tom Cairney just in front of the bustling Harrison Reed alongside Joao Palhinha. There will be no rest for the wicked with Willian and Bobby De Cordova-Reid – combined aged 66 – Fulham's only fit senior wide players as Harry Wilson continues to recuperate from the shoulder injury suffered against Newcastle United.

Fulham's away form, which has not delivered a Premier League away win since De Cordova-Reid's opening weekend winner at Goodison Park, will need to pick up in the second half of the season. The Whites are not yet safe, with Luton continuing to pick up points, and a curse-busting success in Lancashire would be a significant boost for Silva's side. Bringing back three points from Turf Moor will be much easier said than done, however.

MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, A. Robinson, Adarabioyo, Ream; Palhinha, Reed; De Cordova-Reid, Willian, Cairney; Broja. Subs: Rodak, Castagne, Ballo-Toure, de Fougerolles, Lukic, Dibley-Dias, Pajaziti, Sekularac, Muniz.



https://hammyend.com/index.php/2024/02/up-next-burnley-a-2/

Why Chelsea will be hoping they don't get £750k loan fee for academy striker
Armando Broja has completed his loan to Fulham. The deal wasn't confirmed until after midnight, but earlier in the evening Jacob Steinberg had some details about the setup of the deal.

We had heard that Chelsea wanted a £5m loan fee, but instead they've incentivised Fulham to use the on loan striker. The Whites will cover his wages, but won't pay a fee, so long as Broja appears in half of their remaining games.

The loan fee itself is just £750k, far lower than was asked for, but including his salary, Steinberg points out the total is £4m. Chelsea are clearly hoping that Broja plays, scores lots of goals, boots his value and can then depart in the summer. Strangely, it creates a situation where they don't want the £750k loan fee as a sort of consolation prize if Broja can't get into the team for whatever reason.

They've got a decent side and Broja just needs some time on the pitch – we think this move could work out well.



https://www.chelsea-news.co/2024/02/why-chelsea-will-be-hoping-they-dont-get-750k-loan-fee-for-academy-striker/

Chelsea discussed the possibility of swapping Armando Broja with Jhon Duran, but Aston Villa striker's injury scuppered deal

Chelsea ended the January transfer window without signing any player but were willing to let Armando Broja join Fulham on loan until the end of the current campaign.

However, the Blues wanted to sign another striker and were linked with interest in Aston Villa's Jhon Duran.

According to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea discussed a swap deal which would have seen Broja move to Villa Park and Duran join them.

However, the injury the Colombian sustained thwarted the deal, and the Blues opted to go ahead without landing a striker despite letting their academy graduate leave.

"There was a possibility for a swap deal," Romano revealed on the latest edition of The Here We Go Podcast.

"Armando Broja to Aston Villa, Jhon Duran to Chelsea. It was just discussed internally. So it was never close. It was never a proper negotiation.

"But it was discussed internally at both clubs as a possibility. Then the injury of Jhon Duran made everything impossible. So they decided not to proceed. But they were considering the possibility because basically, they wanted Armando Broja to go and play on loan. But also to Aston Villa as they did with Fulham when they closed the deal, they wanted an important loan fee for Armando Broja, and Aston Villa couldn't guarantee that because they already have a top striker like Ollie Watkins.

"So, basically what happened is that Chelsea decided to leave the early conversations, but it wasn't an advanced and concrete negotiation because they were happy to let Armando Broja leave on loan and continue with the current squad."

The return of Christopher Nkunku from injury made the Blues decide that the Albanian international could leave, and they also have Nicolas Jackson available following the end of Senegal's AFCON campaign.

They also decided against activating Victor Osimhen's £110 million release clause in January, but the Nigeria international is likely to be among Chelsea's top targets in the summer, when the club may find his release clause more palatable if they can earn money on sales.

Landing a striker remains top of their plans, but Financial Fair Play issues prevented them from going after the Napoli star last month, and they will be desperate to make sure things improve as they look to balance the books in the coming months.




https://sports-view.co.uk/2024/02/chelsea-discussed-the-possibility-of-swapping-armando-broja-with-jhon-duran-but-aston-villa-strikers-injury-scuppered-deal

Burnley v Fulham: Team news, predicted teams and TV details as Clarets face must-win scenario
After the drama of transfer deadline day, the focus returns to on-the-field matters as Burnley face a must-win encounter against Fulham.

Vincent Kompany's side lost 3-1 to Manchester City on their return from the winter break on Wednesday night, leaving them seven points adrift of safety.

If the Clarets are to have any hope of pulling off a survival miracle, they must realistically pick up a positive result at Turf Moor today given they face title-challening Liverpool and Arsenal in their next two games.

Burnley are currently five games without a win in all competitions, but the last side they beat was today's opponents Fulham thanks to a 2-0 victory at Craven Cottage back in December.

Marco Silva's side, who drew 0-0 with Everton during the week, are also without a win in their last five outings. They sit 12th in the table, seven points ahead of the relegation zone.

Here's all the important information ahead of today's fixture:

When and where is the game taking place?
The match is being held at Burnley's Turf Moor Stadium on Saturday, February 3. Kick-off is at 3pm.

Is it on TV?
No, the game falls behind the UK's Saturday 3pm blackout.

How else can I follow the game?
Burnley FC writer Matt Scrafton will be providing live updates on his Twitter feed, followed by a match report, post-match reaction and further analysis on the Burnley Express' website.

What's the latest team news?
Jordan Beyer, Hannes Delcroix and Charlie Taylor all remain doubts after missing the midweek defeat against Man City.

Elsewhere, Luca Koleosho and Nathan Redmond remain long-term absentees.

Deadline day recruits Maxime Esteve and Lorenz Assignon will be hoping to make their Burnley debuts.

As for Fulham, Harry Wilson is struggling with a shoulder problem while Raul Jimenez and Issa Diop both have hamstring issues.

Adama Traore is out with a thigh injury, while Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey are still at the African Cup of Nations with Nigeria.

Vincent Kompany's pre-match comments
"I'd like for us to have a must win attitude in every game.

"Everything I see with the group and how they're approaching the tough period we've had, they've always done exactly what I've wanted them to do which gives me confidence they can get results at some point.

"We've been in games, we've done well against good opponents, but every game has to be an opportunity for us to get results now. There's nothing else to say.

"We can't win them all, but we have to have the mindset to do something in every game.

"You can say score, score, defend the box as well, but a big element of it is belief.

"We will approach the game like we always do, preparing well and bank on the fact we've got Turf Moor behind us and be the best we can be on the day."

What are the predicted teams?
Burnley: Trafford, Vitinho, O'Shea, Ekdal, Al-Dakhil, Brownhill, Berge, Gudmundsson, Odobert, Amdouni, Foster

Fulham: Leno, Tete, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson, Reed, Palhinha, Decordova-Reid, Pereira, Willian, Muniz

Who is the referee?
Darren Bond. He's overseen 14 games so far this season, dishing out 64 yellow cards and two reds. He last officiated a Burnley game in April of last season when Vincent Kompany's men beat Middlesbrough to clinch promotion to the Premier League.

What are the latest odds?
Burnley: 19/10

Draw: 12/5

Fulham: 11/8

Odds according to SkyBet.



https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/burnley-v-fulham-team-news-predicted-teams-and-tv-details-as-clarets-face-must-win-scenario-4502284

Making sustainability progress at Fulham
The Trust is delighted to learn that Fulham has signed up for the Green Football Weekend, happening this week in the buildup to our away game against Burnley. Trust board member, Sarah Keig, caught up with Head of Strategy at Fulham, Tim Griffith, who is leading the sustainability charge for the club. These are early days for the club's plans for making Craven Cottage more sustainable, but they are tackling the cause head on and there are exciting plans ahead.

Some of the changes already implemented by the club includes:

    Through a partnership with Gridserve, the club car fleet is fully electric, and ten charging points have been installed across Craven Cottage and Motspur Park.
    Club kit partner, Adidas, now ensure that the home, away & third kits are manufactured from 100% recycled materials.
    The club and the Fulham Foundation are participating in the #TransfertoVeg campaign. This aims to show how small lifestyle differences can add up to a big difference for the environment and particularly how eating more vegetable-based meals can significantly reduce your carbon footprint.
    Recently, the club hosted a sustainability and environmental awareness workshop for Academy players (U14s, U17s and U18s), in partnership with 'Football For Future'. The sessions were geared towards helping the players understand the fundamentals of climate change and its relationship with football and developing an understanding of the practical ways the football industry can become more sustainable.
    The Foundation's 2023-24 Social Action Challenge, which engages primary, secondary and community groups, is focused on helping young people create and implement ideas to protect the planet

It was also great to hear that a new sustainability page will launch on fulhamfc.com soon. It will summarise the Club's progress across key areas of sustainability and keep fans aware of new initiatives and projects as they arise.

We know that climate change is a pressing, yet complex issue that Fulham alone cannot fix, but have a role to play towards the larger goal of reducing output on our planet. It's imperative for this that the club and fans work together, and the Trust are keen to support in any way that we can.

You can read more about the club's work for Green Football Weekend here.



https://www.fulhamsupporterstrust.com/news/2024/02/making-sustainability-progress-at-fulham/

Live Sunday: Watch Youth Cup football - Liverpool v Fulham

Watch Liverpool's FA Youth Cup tie against Fulham live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO on Sunday afternoon.
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson's Reds host the Cottagers at the Kirkby Academy in the fifth round of the competition, with the clash kicking off at 1pm GMT.

Our coverage begins five minutes earlier and can be watched on LFCTV and LFCTV GO here.

    Subscribe to LFCTV GO now and get a month free using the code GOFREE23. You can also sign up and watch via the official LFCTV GO app (iOS | Google Play). Terms and conditions apply.



https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/sunday-watch-youth-cup-football-liverpool-v-fulham

FA make official decision on Newcastle United incident & Fulham rule break after Arsenal U-turn
The FA have fined Marco Silva for his comments made after Newcastle United's 3-0 win over Fulham in December.

Fulham manager Marco Silva has admitted to improper conduct and been fined £80,000 for breaching FA rules following defeat to Newcastle United.

Fulham saw Raul Jimenez shown an early straight red card following a foul on Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff and a VAR check back in December at St James' Park. The Magpies went on to win the game 3-0 with goals from Lewis Miley, Miguel Almiron and Dan Burn.

After the match, Silva described the performance of referee Sam Barrott as 'really strange'. It was the referee's first top flight match at St James' Park.

"Until the 21st minute of the game, we didn't have one foul," Silva told Sky Sports at the time. All the tackles and challenges on the pitch, for us, was to keep going and, for Newcastle, was always freekicks. Really strange.

"I think the pressure on the game with a not experienced referee was difficult for him. He was not capable to handle the pressure, in my opinion, from a game like this one at St James' Park. That is clear for me."

The FA investigation highlights similar comments made by Silva to various outlets as well as his post-match press conference in which he appeared to question the integrity of the match officials.

An FA statement confirming Silva's punishment read: "Fulham FC's manager Marco Silva has been fined £80,000 and warned as to his future conduct for a breach of FA Rule E3 following their Premier League game against Newcastle United FC on Saturday 16 December 2023.    "Mr Silva admitted that his comments in the post-match media interviews following the fixture, constitute improper conduct in that they imply bias and/or question the integrity of, and/or are insulting towards the match official (Referee) and/or the Video Assistant Referee, and/or bring the game into disrepute. The sanction was imposed by an independent Regulatory Commission."

Silva isn't the first manager to be charged by the FA for his comments following a clash with the Magpies this season. Mikel Arteta was also charged following Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at St James' Park but the Spaniard subsequently had that charge dropped after an appeal by the Gunners.



https://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/fa-make-official-decision-on-newcastle-united-incident-fulham-rule-break-after-arsenal-u-turn-4504031

Report: Wolves' Financial Fair Play Strategy Unpacked

Navigating Financial Fair Play: Wolves' Prudent Approach to the Transfer Market
Balancing Act in the Transfer Window
In a recent revelation by Gary O'Neil, Wolverhampton Wanderers' approach to the January transfer window underscores the delicate balancing act football clubs face in navigating Financial Fair Play regulations. Wolves' interest in Chelsea striker Armando Broja was a storyline followed with great interest, but the potential deal raised concerns about financial viability and the broader implications for the club's future.

As reported by Tom Colomosse in the Daily Mail, Wolves' caution in the transfer market is a reflection of the club's commitment to sustainability and compliance with the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules. Despite a significant influx of funds from player sales last summer, amounting to £140 million, Wolves remain wary of the financial thresholds that have ensnared clubs like Everton and Nottingham Forest, with Everton already facing a points deduction this season.

The Broja Dilemma
Armando Broja's potential loan move to Molineux was a topic of considerable speculation. However, the club's decision to withdraw from negotiations, not once but twice, underscores the financial prudence governing their transfer strategy. Ultimately, Broja joined Fulham on a loan deal, which included a loan fee of approximately £4 million, a figure that Wolves deemed beyond their financial reach without jeopardizing the club's standing.

O'Neil's explanation of the situation sheds light on the complexities of modern football finance. "We couldn't afford to go to where other clubs were able to go to without putting ourselves at risk," he stated, highlighting the precarious position Wolves find themselves in. The adherence to financial discipline, even in the face of competitive pressures, is a testament to the club's long-term vision and respect for the regulatory framework.

Strategic Patience
Wolves' restraint during the transfer window is not a sign of lack of ambition but rather a strategic patience aimed at ensuring the club's growth is sustainable and compliant with league regulations. O'Neil's respect for the club's direction and financial health is evident. "We are in a good place financially at least where we haven't broken any rules or taken ourselves into an area that we shouldn't," he affirmed, underscoring the importance of compliance and sustainability in the club's strategy.

Looking Ahead
Wolves' experience in the recent transfer window serves as a cautionary tale for other clubs navigating the choppy waters of Financial Fair Play. The strategic decisions made by the club's management, prioritizing financial health over short-term gains, may well set a precedent for others in the league. As the landscape of football finance continues to evolve, the importance of prudent financial management cannot be overstated.

In conclusion, Wolves' approach to the Armando Broja transfer saga, as detailed by Tom Colomosse, highlights the complex interplay between financial sustainability and competitive ambition in modern football. The club's decision-making process, guided by a commitment to long-term stability, offers valuable insights into the challenges faced by clubs in maintaining compliance with financial regulations while striving to remain competitive on the pitch.



https://eplindex.com/103863/report-wolves-financial-fair-play-strategy-unpacked.html

Lookman deserves Afcon success for shaking up career after Fulham and Everton
Lookman opted for Nigeria and Atalanta over England and the Premier League - it was the best decision he ever made

ABIDJAN — Ademola Lookman had to think about whether he might ever play for Nigeria. He had won the Under-20 World Cup alongside seven players who have gone on to represent England's senior team, but Lookman is the exception. After long, serious deliberation, he chose the nation of his family heritage over the one of his birth.

Nigeria was always likely to be the easier route to regular international football, but in 2020 Lookman decided to pick England. Now the Africa Cup of Nations might be his route to an extraordinary legacy. "I'm happy I made it," Lookman recalled last year. "This has been the best decision I ever made." Hasn't it just?

The same is roughly true of Lookman's club career, which too shifted in one excellent judgement call. Wandsworth-born, Peckham-raised and Charlton Athletic-trained, Lookman's notorious potential had got a little stuck at Everton, RB Leipzig and then Leicester City. He took Atalanta's offer to move to Bergamo in August 2022, six months after his international switch.

Last season, Lookman scored more league goals than Paulo Dybala, Romelu Lukaku and Dusan Vlahovic and more in the same team as Rasmus Hojlund. One of them subsequently moved to Manchester United for £64m. Lookman will smile wryly and say that he is happy where he is. He is a man at the top of his game. At 26, potential has gone all grown up.

Nigeria had been waiting for Lookman for two years and were quick to make him feel wanted.

He made his debut six weeks later, March 2022, in a 0-0 draw in Ghana and, when Jose Peseiro got the job in May of the same year Lookman was a prime candidate to feature in the next major tournament.

When Taiwo Awoniyi and Victor Boniface pulled out through injury, he became a likely starter.

Peseiro possessed the strongest front three at this tournament before it started and that conclusion has become more emphatic as continental giants have been toppled by a variety of David's weapons.

Victor Osimhen's most fervent supporters would describe him one of the top three centre forwards in world football. Moses Simon has always been a bundle of pent-up possibilities, although he is at Nantes because it has never burned with a steady flame.

Both of those have been supporting actors to Lookman's excellence. He has scored all three of Nigeria's knockout goals and the Super Eagles are better than anyone else at getting to semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. It's usually there that they run into better sides or their own incompetence. Only the latter may scupper them now.

The goal that eliminated Angola was supreme, a collection of technically and aesthetically beautiful elements that combined to break through stupor in stifling heat, like the perfect cocktail on a summer's day.

Simon broke clear of a challenge he always seemed second favourite to win. Osimhen's movement took two Angolan defenders into danger like Hamelin's soundtrack.

Lookman finished with absolute composure with his left foot, high into the net, and then ran away with an expression that said "Fuss? What's that about?".

Part of the charm is that Lookman offers such flexibility and positional versatility that this Nigeria team needs.

With three central defenders, wing-backs and two passing central midfielders, the ball usually ends up out wide with Osimhen screaming for a cross or being worked infield from a similar position.

In that scenario, Lookman can be the free man – he started Serie A matches in five different positions last season. Osimhen is the penalty box presence. Simon is the winger. Lookman is whatever you want him to be.

All around this team, glorious happenstance is building to make them the most likely winners of Afcon for only the second time since 1994, a wretched record given the depth of their resources. Nobody personifies their hopes more than Lookman.

Three years ago, he was an England hopeful and a RB Leipzig player on loan to Fulham. Three months ago he had two handfuls of senior caps and a handful of dreams. Everything since has justified everything else: the best decision of his life.



https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/ademola-lookman-afcon-fulham-everton-2888350?ITO=newsnow

Stan Collymore gives his honest verdict on Chelsea letting Armando Broja join Fulham on loan
Stan Collymore thinks Armando Broja has made a great move leaving Chelsea and joining Fulham on loan for the rest of the season.

Armando Broja completed a last-minute move on deadline day this week across west London.

The 22-year-old striker was in and out of the Blues XI during the first half of the season, scoring just two goals.

Now, he'll get the opportunity to lead the line at Craven Cottage for Premier League rivals Fulham.
Chelsea v Middlesbrough - Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg

Stan Collymore has delivered an in-depth analysis on why Broja's loan switch to Fulham could be great for his development.

Collymore told CaughtOffside: "I think securing Armando Broja on loan until the end of the season is a really good move for Fulham. I really like him — I've seen him play live a few times and he is a decent striker. He was held back a little bit after suffering that really bad injury but he's still young. He's 22 years old so he has plenty of time to fulfil his potential, and obviously sitting on Chelsea's bench wasn't going to do that, so to see him finally in line to get regular minutes is a really positive sign.

"He's a player who has outrageous pace, so his presence up front will help Fulham hit teams on the counter-attack. I think this one will turn out to be a really shrewd move from Marco Silva.

"From what I have seen of Fulham, they have absolutely no problems creating chances and breaking sides down, but they've struggled with putting the ball in the back of the net but Broja is a player capable of doing that week-in-week-out, so I am expecting good things from him in the second half the season."

Armando Broja to Fulham
We'll be keeping a close eye to see if Broja makes his debut for Marco Silva's Fulham side this afternoon against Burnley.

Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Gary O'Neill admitted that his side tried really hard to sign Broja at the end of the January window. We're optimistic that a Fulham side that creates a lot of chance can suit the on-loan Chelsea forward, though.

Broja needs to try recapture the kind of form he showed during a loan at St Mary's with Southampton a couple of seasons ago, where he looked fast, strong and a presence up top.

Unfortunately, the youngster's been fighting to get back to his best since a long-term injury layout.



https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/news/stan-collymore-gives-his-honest-verdict-on-chelsea-letting-armando-broja-join-fulham-on-loan/

Super Eagles new darling Nwabali explains why he shouted at most capped player on the pitch Iwobi

Nigeria advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on Friday evening, beating Angola 1-0 thanks to Ademola Lookman's first half strike.

One of the lasting images from the game came in the 59th minute when goalkeeper Stanley Nwabili was pictured shouting at one of the senior players in the Super Eagles squad in Alex Iwobi.

Seconds before, the Angolans came very close to equalizing through substitute Zini, who timed his run perfectly only to hit the post after a through ball by Show.

Iwobi was guilty of some sloppy play in midfield which led to the Angola counter-attack that almost resulted in a goal.

Making his 74th international appearance against the Palancas Negras, the Arsenal Hale End Academy product was the most capped player on the pitch.

Explaining why he berated Iwobi, Nwabali told reporters in the mixed zone: "It's a team game so everyone needs to switch on, it doesn't matter so maybe it was our strategy at that moment. I don't feel like anything happened so it's okay.

"You can see we've kept four clean sheets and conceded one goal, the guys are good. Our understanding is getting better as the game goes. We keep understanding each other."

Nwabali had been rated as doubtful to face Angola after suffering a mild ligament injury during the second half of the win against the Indomitable Lions.

The Chippa United glovesman received the medical green light to make his sixth consecutive start for the Super Eagles in the days leading up to the clash against Angola.

Asked if he's back to full fitness, he replied: "I played ninety minutes today so I hope to keep going."

Nwabaili has become the new darling of Super Eagles fans on the back of his outstanding performances at the ongoing tournament in Ivory Coast.

The 27-year-old has a save percentage of 90.9 percent after five matches, not bettered by any other goalkeeper at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel



https://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=50340