Monday Fulham News 13/06/2016

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Dembele agrees Galatasaray switch



Fulham are set to lose exciting youngster Moussa Dembele to Galatasaray after he agreed terms on a long-term deal with the Turks. The Frenchman is out of contract at Craven Cottage later this month and Fulham's attempts to keep the 19-year-old appear destined to end in failure after he reportedly opted for a move to Istanbul. Dembele, who scored 17 times last season for the Cottagers, has previously been linked with French giants Paris Saint-Germain and several Premier League clubs. However, reports in Turkey say the striker has agreed to join Galatasaray on a contract worth £27,000-per-week after the Turkish giants outbid their English rivals for the teenager's signature. Dembele's proposed move to Galatasaray is bad news for Fulham as they will not receive any compensation due to him heading for a team outside of the UK.

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DEMBELE IS IN TALKS WITH GALATASARAY



His Wiki page Reports in Turkey suggested that Fulham striker Moussa Dembele was deep in talks with Galatasaray over a move to the club this summer.

Fotospor is just one of many sources in Turkey that reported the news that Gala had met with the Cottagers' player and come to an agreement.

The French striker is out of contract at the end of the month and has been linked with plenty of teams, but it seemed Gala had become the front-runners for his signature.

Now reports are suggesting an announcement is due this week, as Dembele agreed a salary of €1.75 (£1.4) million a year to join the club – equating to around £27k-a-week.

The report from Haberler suggests that Fulham were not originally willing to spend such a fee on the player but decided to splash out to beat English clubs to his signature.

This will of course come as bad news to Fulham – who will not receive any compensation for the player as he is heading to a foreign club.

The talented French striker played 46 times for Fulham in 2015-16, scoring 17 goals.

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Stokes and Huws in, Matt Smith on the way out?

Silly Season is upon us, are the transfers possible? Sure. Are they likely? Who knows.



Rumors emerged on Friday suggesting that Fulham are set for talks with free agent Anthony Stokes, formerly of Celtic.

Stokes 27, who had spent 6 years at Celtic Park, Spent last season on loan playing in the Scottish Championship at Hibernian. Scoring 6 in 14 league games.

The Irishmen also led Hibernian to their first Scottish Cup triumph in 114 years. Scoring 4 goals in 6 games, including a brace in the final against Rangers.

Fulham are among a number of Championship clubs interested in his services next term. including Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City and Rotherham United.

Is Stokes the answer to filling the void left by Dembele or McCormack if they leave this summer? Or is Jokanovic bringing in strength in depth to relive the pressure on the front men.



Reports from the Daily Mail suggest that Fulham are planning a £2.5 million move for Emyr Huws.

The talented 22 year old spent last season on loan at Huddersfield Town in the Championship from Wigan Athletic in an attempt to secure his place in the Welsh national team's Euro 2016 squad.

Huws was unfortunate to miss the cut in the 23 man squad selected by Wales Manager and Fulham fan favorite Chris Coleman.

Jokanovic is in the market for a Central Midfielder after the club released Jamie O'Hara. While there is a chance he is back, his future at the club is still shrouded with uncertainty. If he doesn't come back, someone will need to fill that role.

Huw's who spent last season on loan at Huddersfield Town, scoring 5 goals in 30 appearances for the club brings some much needed Championship experience to a team looking to rebound after a season that nearly saw them relegated to the third tier of English football.

Is Huw's the answer to Fulham's midfield issues? With a price tag of £2.5 million, there is a risk with Huw's reknowned injury issues that could hinder the club over a long, testing season.

Would you like to see Huw's join the club?



Reports suggest that Wolves have placed a bid of £750,000 for the Fulham Front man Matt Smith.

Smith 27, made only 5 starts during the 2015/16 season after falling out of a favor and sliding down the pecking order.

At 6'6 Smith brings a different dynamic with his playing style. Giving the team an option of a different approach. He made a further 16 appearances from the bench, only managing to score twice.

When Fulham signed Smith from Leeds in 2014 he came with a goal to game ratio of 12 goals in 42 games.

But has since struggled to cement his position in the first team's starting XI, he spent a successful spell away from the club with Bristol City in League One in the 2014/15 season. Showing his quality with a prolific 13 goals in 20 games for The Robins.

Will Matt Smith's different style of play impact Fulham if he leaves the club this summer?

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KACANIKLIC IS REPORTED TO BE IN TALKS WITH FC NANTES



His Wiki page Recently released Fulham midfielder Alexander Kacaniklic is reported to be in talks with FC Nantes club president Kita.

The Swedish international (not selected for Euro 2016) has just finished his contract with English club Fulham (second division), where he played for six seasons.

During that time (10 goals in a hundred games with Fulham), Kacaniklic was loaned out three times (Watford, Burnley and Copenhagen).

Last season, he scored 3 goals in 23 matches in Championship.

He has 19 caps for Sweden team scoring 3 goals.

"He is a very technical, very fast player, explains Petra Thoren, Swedish journalist.

He was first selected in 2012 and played until 2014, from when, due to lack of game time, he has not been selected.

"Alexander Kacaniklic therefore comes to Nantes to revive his career.

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Wolves make £750K bid for Fulham striker

Wolves have a made a £750K bid for Fulham's Matt Smith according to a report from the Express & Star.

The lanky striker who stands at 6ft 6in has been out of favour at Craven Cottage having sat behind the likes of Moussa Dembele and Ross McCormack for most of last season. And even though those two strikers look likely to leave the club this summer, Smith is also willing to leave and other Championship sides are interested in signing him.

One such team is Wolves, who according to reports have made a bid worth £750K. After starting last season with a fierce front line consisting of Nouha Dicko and Benik Afobe, they soon lost both with Dicko suffering a serious injury while Afobe was sold to Bournemouth. And while Smith is very different to those two forwards, Wolves head coach Kenny Jackett obviously believes that he can add something to this Wolves side.

Smith started his career in non-league football, playing for the likes of New Mills and Reedditch United before his impressive form at Solihull Moors earned him a move into the Football League with Oldham Athletic. His tall physical style helped them and earned him a move to Leeds before moving onto their Championship rivals Fulham in 2014.

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Wolves make bid for former fans' favourite and transfer target Matt Smith from Fulham



WOLVES have made a reported bid for former Bristol City fans' favourite Matt Smith.

The Fulham striker, who bagged 13 goals in 23 games two seasons ago while on loan at Ashton Gate, is hugely out-of-favour at Craven Cottage and he could now be set to move to the Midlands in search of regular Championship football.

The Robins tried to lure the 27-year-old target man to BS3 in January but ended up bringing in Bournemouth's Lee Tomlin – a player they are now looking to sign permanently – and Cameroonian Paul Arnold Garita.

Smith has been fighting for his place at Fulham with Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembele, and the 6ft 6inch former Oldham and Leeds man could be off to Kenny Jackett's side for a reported £750k.

Wolves had a loan bid turned down for Smith last season before he went on to play 16 times and score two goals for Championship strugglers Fulham.

The Robins are not thought to be in for Smith this summer as head coach Lee Johnson pursues other targets – most importantly Cherries attacker and former Middlesbrough man Tomlin.

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DEAL CLOSE: FULHAM STAR CLOSE TO SECURING MOVE TO CLUB, FANS WILL SURELY BE GUTTED



It has emerged from a report by the Turkish news outlet Fotospor that Fulham's Moussa Dembele is close to securing a move to Turkish giants, Galatasaray.

The report suggests that Moussa Dembele has met with Galatasaray's representatives and the 19 year old striker has agreed to make the move to Turkey.

Dembele had been attracting attention from a number of European giants including AC Milan but Galatasaray has opted to move quickly to sign the French striker, before interest from other clubs properly materialised.

The 19-year-old featured 46 times for Fulham in the 2015-2016 season scoring 17 goals, which saw the interest in the striker intensify as it emerged that Fulham had one of the brightest young talents in European football.

The Frenchman's contract is set to expire next month and Dembele's likely move abroad would lead to Fulham missing out on a development compensation fee.

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Wolves line up move for Fulham striker Smith



Smith found himself out of favour at Fulham last season, making just five starts in the Championship as he was forced to play a back-up role to both Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembele.

Wolves boss Kenny Jackett is a long-term admirer of Smith and saw a loan bid for the striker rejected at the back end of last season.

Bristol City also saw a bid to sign Smith on a permanent basis turned down in January after the player enjoyed a successful spell on loan at Ashton Gate the previous season.

Jackett has continued to keep tabs on Smith's situation at Craven Cottage and is ready to rekindle his interest in the former Leeds striker this summer.

Jackett has made a new striker one of his top priorities at Molineux this summer and it appears he has set his sights on Smith.

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Boa: Golden Generation



The season of 2003/04 was one of Luis Boa Morte's finest in a Fulham shirt, scoring 10 times as the team secured a record-breaking finish of ninth in the Premier League.

That form, coupled with the fact he'd made eight appearances for the national team throughout the campaign, led many to believe he'd be part of Portugal's European Championship squad in the summer. Sadly, he didn't make the cut.

Louis Saha – who had left Fulham for Manchester United that January – described his former teammate's exclusion as 'revolting and scandalous,' but today Boa Morte harbours no bitterness about the situation.



"I remember Louis Saha's comments, and Edwin van der Sar as well," he told fulhamfc.com. "I give my thanks to them but there was nothing that I could really do, or they could do!

"Of course it's frustrating but you've got to respect the decisions because on the other hand when you get a call-up sometimes people might not think you deserve to be there, but they've got to respect the decision.

"You're always going to have some people who like it and some who don't, but you just get on with it."

It turned out to be a tournament of heartbreak for the Portuguese. On home soil, they went into the Final as overwhelming favourites, but fell victim to Greece's underdog fairytale.

Boa recalled: "2004... we never should have lost that. We only lost twice, but it was against the same team, the opening game and the closing game of the tournament.

"That was really painful. We were playing at home, with all the support we had we should have been able to turn things around. That was our best chance to lift the trophy."



Boa Morte ended up with 28 Portugal caps to his name, something that he's very proud of, especially considering the quality of attacking players in the team.

"That was the Portuguese golden generation and it was really, really hard for any player to break in," he explained. "Portugal won the Under-20 World Cup in 1991 in our own country, and that team was really strong."

He's not wrong. That youth side boasted Luis Figo, Rui Costa and Joao Pinto in its ranks – individuals he'd later end up playing alongside.

"At the time of that Under-20 World Cup in I was 13 years old and I was supporting them," he said. "I remember being in the stadium with 25,000 other people watching the Final. And a few years later we're sharing the same changing room, so that was amazing."

He was given his debut at 21 whilst on loan at Fulham – some feat considering he was playing for a side in the second tier of English football.

He recalled: "I managed to step in for a friendly match when there were a few injuries, but I'm going to give all the credit to myself and my teammates who helped me because we had a great season with Fulham.



"When you reach the full national team, it's not something you can describe because you're representing your country at the highest level possible.

"You don't always get selected so you needed to keep working and not fall asleep because the place is always up for grabs. Any time you fall asleep, that's it, someone else will take your place."

This summer Portugal find themselves in a group with Iceland, Hungary and Austria. Boa fancies their chances of progressing but knows it will be difficult thereafter – a situation he also envisages for England.

"I'm quite positive that we can get through the group stages, then it depends who we're facing," he stated. "The favourites are France and Germany, for me. Portugal could be included in that group with Germany, France, Spain, England.

"I rate England's chances the same as Portugal – get through the group stages then take each game as it comes.

"England have a tough group. It will be a massive game against Wales, Russia is always tough because they never give up. Slovakia you could consider an outsider, but you never know."

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What does the future hold for Ryan Fredericks at Fulham?



A right back who struggles to defend? A winger who's more defensive? What exactly is Ryan Fredericks.

The question on everyone's lips is Fredericks a full back with potential? Or a winger played out of position?

Personally I am a big fan of Fredericks.

Last season he was one of the team's most influential players.

The two frontmen of Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembélé supplied the goals that ultimately kept the team in the division but what Ryan Fredericks brought to the team was pace down the wing. When he was not in the squad the team played very flat, the ball was played around slowly and the team was susceptible to the counter attack.

He has the similarities of a young Dani Alves, bags of pace and is dynamic down the flank but sparse on the defending side of his game. But look how Alves's career turned out after the right coaching and he was played to his strengths.

All that aside, stamina and positioning issues may have left the team defensively weak more than often over the course of the season.

Leaving fans rather frustrated with the youngest performances,

Stamina issues and the weakness to his defensive game makes me question, is he simply an out of position winger that would thrive in a more attacking role?

All in all he is still young and his raw talent has shown, it is evident that he possesses lots of potential and under the nurturing of Slaviša Jokanovič hopefully we are still to see the best of Fredericks at full back.

Hopefully we will see the young Right Back solidify the position as his own for years to come.