Sparky Talks About His Espanyol Trip

[White Noise]

Fulham confirm interest in Espanyol hitman



Published 16:51 05/05/11



By MirrorFootball






Fulham boss Mark Hughes has confirmed he's been on a scouting mission to watch Espanyol this week, after being strongly linked with a move for striker Pablo Daniel Osvaldo.

Hughes jetted out to Barcelona to take in Espanyol's Primera Division win over Athletic Bilbao, in which the highly-rated Osvaldo scored.

Hughes was reportedly joined at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat by Manchester United's chief European scout - Sir Alex Ferguson's brother Martin - Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp and Everton gaffer David Moyes.

Osvaldo, 25, has also been valued by some at £12million, making Fulham very much underdogs for his signature should a bidding war begin.

"We're looking at what's available," said Hughes. "We're looking at a view to next year and if we can add quality to the quality we already have then we'll try to do that.

"But it is price-sensitive, I would suggest. Sometimes you can want to bring a good player in but financially you haven't got the means to do that.

"So we're just making sure that we're out there and we understand what's in the market place."

Hughes has also been linked with the more affordable Young Boys forward Henri Bienvenu Ntsama and Swansea star Scott Sinclair as he looks to bolster his attack this summer.

The loss of Bobby Zamora to a broken leg in September hit the club hard and the Fulham boss appears eager to avoid a repeat next season.

Hughes also reported good news regarding top scorer - and Fulham's new record Premier League scorer - Clint Dempsey, who missed Saturday's 3-0 win at Sunderland.

"Clint's trained after the weekend," said the Cottagers boss, whose side host Liverpool on Monday night. "He was a bit stiff in his hamstrings on the Friday prior to the Sunderland game, so there was no point in risking him.

"I took the view to leave him behind and he's benefited from that and he should be okay. He's trained today and he'll train right up to the game so he should be an option for us."

Brede Hangeland will also be available again after missing last weekend's game through illness, but Zoltan Gera and Rafik Halliche remain sidelined.



Read more: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Fulham-transfer-news-Mark-Hughes-has-confirmed-interest-in-12m-rated-Espanyol-striker-Pablo-Daniel-Osvaldo-but-Manchester-United-Tottenham-and-Everton-are-watching-him-too-article732138.html#ixzz1LUny3iHZ

[HatterDon]

Estadi Cornella-El Prat

They have a stadium named after Kenny Dalglish?

[MrFFC]

Osvaldo is a very good player but i don't think we should spend £12m on a striker we got healthy striking options with Dembele Gudjohnson Johnson and Zamora so a striker would be nice but isn't a must.