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Tuesday Fulham Stuff (21/01/14)...

Started by WhiteJC, January 20, 2014, 07:41:32 PM

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WhiteJC

 
Lazio linked with Fulham defender



Serie A side Lazio have been linked with a move for out-of-favour Fulham centre-back Philippe Senderos.

According to Swiss news source Infoticker.ch, the 28-year-old has become a top target for the Italians, who are looking to add depth to their defence this January.



http://www.sportsdirectnews.com/premier-league-news/38786-lazio-linked-with-fulham-defender.php#.Ut35wv0eKL8

WhiteJC

 
Transfer news: Fulham set to fail with further bids for Leicester City defender Liam Moore

Fulham manager René Meulensteen looks set to miss out on Leicester City defender Liam Moore as neither the East Midlands club, nor the player, consider the deal worthwhile.

The Cottagers have already tested the water with a £2.2m offer, which Leicester rejected immediately, and plan to up their valuation to £4m in the coming days.

Moore, the England under-21 international, is thought to value his chances of securing regular top flight football more favourably with his hometown club however.

After six consecutive victories in the league, Nigel Pearson's side are currently four points clear at the summit of the Championship and look good to finally return to the Premier League after a ten year absence.

Fulham, on the other hand, are just a point away from the relegation zone and have the worst goal difference in the top tier.

With his side built on the foundations of Moore's daunting partnership with Wes Morgan, Pearson is focusing on adding to his squad rather than losing key players.

"I was made aware there had been a bid, which was rejected, and we move on," he told the Leicester Mercury.

"Terry (Robinson, Leicester's director of football) said to me there had been a bid and he had turned it down.

"That is all there is to it. I am not interested too much apart from that.

"If you have good young players there is always going to be some interest in them, but we always have to do what is right for this club.

"At the moment, we are trying to achieve success. I don't feel it is in any way constructive if we dismantle the team."

Leicester are in sound financial shape after chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha bought the King Power Stadium before effectively wiping out £103m worth of debt last month.

For those reasons they are under no pressure to sell and plan to tie a number of first-team regulars to new contracts in the coming weeks.


http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/transfer-news-fulham-set-to-fail-with-further-bids-for-leicester-city-defender-liam-moore-9072644.html

WhiteJC

 
Sheffield United: Blades plan FA Cup fright


Darren Bent impressed during Fulham's third round replay against Norwich City

Nigel Clough, the Sheffield United manager, has ordered his team to fight fire with fire against Fulham in the FA Cup this weekend.

The Premier League club visit Bramall Lane for a fourth round tie which has been selected for live European broadcast following United's victory over Aston Villa in the previous stage of the competition.

Rene Meulensteen, Clough's counterpart in the capital, has a wealth of attacking talent at his disposal with Darren Bent, Alexander Kačaniklić and Ashkan Dejagah all likely to feature during Sunday's contest.

But, the 47-year-old insisted United's performance during the Yorkshire derby with Bradford City three days ago must form the tactical template when they attempt to claim another top-flight scalp.

"In the past few weeks we've seen everything we could have wanted from the lads in terms of their display," Clough told The Star. "And the first thing we said to them in the dressing room after the Bradford game was to take that into the match with Fulham.

"We've got to play the same way, be positive and take the game to them. We don't want to sit back and be negative.

"Let's do exactly what we have been doing lately and give it a real go."

United remained 19th in the League One table after second-half goals from Gary Jones and James Hanson secured City a share of the spoils last weekend. Jamie Murphy and Harry Maguire appeared to have put the hosts on the verge of their first win since that memorable success at Villa Park earlier this month but, describing Jones' deflected effort as "the real turning point," Clough continued: "Billy Paynter was the first of our lads to come into the dressing room afterwards and he was adamant that we'd have won if it hadn't been for that. He was right too.

"We couldn't be critical because the lads gave everything out there. Absolutely everything and it was a great performance in so many ways.

"It was a cracking game, a real Yorkshire derby and we really should have taken all three (points) given the number of balls we whipped across their area. We could quite easily have won that by four or five and controlled things for long periods."

Fulham are just one place above the FAPL's relegation zone following their defeat by Arsenal but Meulensteen, speaking after that match at the Emirates Stadium, insisted: "I thought we did ever so well. We were up against a top side.

We limited them after their strong start. If we produced a bit more quality we could have nicked a goal in first half but we will take a lot of heart from this performance."

Meanwhile, confirming Jose Baxter should be available for selection against Fulham despite hobbling-off towards the end of United's clash with City, Clough said: "He'll be fine, I'm sure. He just took a lot of punishment out there and we thought, at one stage, he might have been feeling a bit groggy but he's okay and there doesn't seem to be any problem."


http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/sheffield-united/sheffield-united-blades-plan-fa-cup-fright-1-6384436


WhiteJC

 
Fulham target Porto midfielder Steven Defour as Rene Meulensteen aims to boost squad
Fulham want to take Belgium international midfielder Steven Defour on loan from Porto with a view to signing him if they stay up


Ambitious: Rene Meulensteen is thinking about making a move for Steve Defour as he attempts to bolster his midfield in the transfer window
Photo: AP


Fulham have opened talks over a bid to sign Belgium international midfielder Steven Defour from Porto.

Head coach Rene Meulensteen is desperate to add energy to the centre of Fulham's midfield before the transfer window shuts.

Porto want around £6.5million for Defour, but Fulham are keen to try to take the 25-year-old on loan until the end of the season with an agreement to buy if they stay up.

Aston Villa have also shown an interest in Defour this month, but were put off by Porto's asking price and it now remains to be seen whether Fulham can reach an agreement with the Portuguese club.

Defour is already well known to Meulensteen, having been a target of Manchester United when he was 19.

Sources in Belgium claim United's then manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, had Defour heavily scouted before the player's progress was slowed down by injuries.

Fulham assistant manager Ray Wilkins is also thought to be behind the move for Defour and the former Standard Liege star is keen to play in the Premier League.

Defour has made 57 league appearances for Porto, scoring three goals, and has won 41 caps for Belgium and represented his country at every age level.

It is unclear whether Fulham's move for Defour has an impact on the club's interest in West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison.

Fulham were last week reported to the Premier League after Meulen-steen admitted to making a £4 million offer for Morrison and claiming the 20-year-old wants to move to Craven Cottage.

West Ham have been braced for a second bid for Morrison from Fulham and it now remains to be seen whether Meulensteen is given the green light to go for the England Under-21 international as well as Defour.

Fulham are also trying to secure the signing of left-back Neil Taylor from Swansea after missing out on Ryan Bertrand, who joined Aston Villa on loan last week.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/fulham/10585751/Fulham-target-Porto-midfielder-Steven-Defour-as-Rene-Meulensteen-aims-to-boost-squad.html

WhiteJC

 
Steven Defour, master of disguise

Fulham linked with Belgian midfielder who has the ability to look different under different circumstances.

My initial intention had been to see if I could understand whether he had the stomach for a relegation battle, but I think these pictures answer that question: he has the stomach for a relegation battle.

APPROVED

 

 


http://cravencottagenewsround.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/steven-defour-master-of-disguise/

WhiteJC

 
Swansea City's Ashley Williams admits Fulham clash will have knockout feel

THE FA Cup is ahead this weekend, but there may be a knockout feel next Tuesday.

Swansea City go to Birmingham City this Saturday with Michael Laudrup adamant he wants to progress in this cup competition having failed at St Andrew's in the Capital One Cup back in September.

But already half an eye – at least – is being drawn towards the Premier League fixture which awaits one week tonight.

Without a win in their last eight top-flight games, Swansea are desperate for a victory.

And a home fixture against Fulham, one of only five sides who are now below them in the table, represents the sort of opportunity that Michael Laudrup's men can barely afford to miss.

It was suggested to Ashley Williams that the Fulham game might have a cup final feel to it.

"It should have," the Swansea captain said.

"Both teams need the points, and it's probably the first time for a few weeks that we're playing a team in and around us.

"We went through Christmas saying that was an important period and didn't pick up enough points. Now this is another crucial period.

"If we get a couple of good results in the next four league games, everything looks different. But if we don't the pressure's on again.

"This is football. This is the Premier League. Sometimes it happens and you've just got to get through it."

Not often in recent times have Swansea had to struggle as they are now.

They have not gone so long without a league win since late 2008, when Roberto Martinez's team did not manage a victory in nine successive Championship matches.

Even then the sequence was not as painful as the one Swansea are currently enduring, for all nine of those games ended in draws.

Swansea have just come through a difficult run of fixtures, one where there was always a danger that points would be scarce.

Now they face Fulham, West Ham, Cardiff and Stoke. Then, after two games against Napoli and a demanding trip to Liverpool, Crystal Palace come to Landore.

It is a run of games where Swansea must dig out a few results, otherwise tension may reign in SA1 right through until the end of the season.

"This hurts," Williams added in the wake of defeat by Spurs last Sunday.

"I'm going to be down now for the next few days at least. It's the same for most of the boys and the fans.

"We're the ones who have to pick ourselves up and go again.

"There is the feeling that we've got a lot of the big teams out of the way now, but these sides coming up are not rubbish teams.

"They are teams who are scrapping for their lives and we've left it so it's a must for us to get results.

"It's going to be difficult, but they're games we're definitely targeting to get points."

Trips to Upton Park and the Britannia Stadium will be far from simple assignments, while the Cardiff clash comes with a pile of pressure regardless of league positions.

The Swansea cause would be aided significantly if they can take some of the weight off their shoulders by overcoming Fulham for the second time this term.

"The season doesn't end in February, but it's an important month for us," Williams continued.

"We feel like we've got a good team and have done well before, but that doesn't give us a right to say we're not in a relegation battle. The table says that we are.

"We feel we can get out of it, but we're in it at the moment – and no-one's too good to go down.

"We feel we're a good team and at the start of the season we never thought we'd be in this position. Even now, we're working to get straight out of it.

"But it's time for us to pull together and perform when it counts. It's all right doing it when things are going well, but we have to dig in."



Read more: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Swansea-City-8217-s-Ashley-Williams-admits-Fulham/story-20468329-detail/story.html#ixzz2r3333uZd


WhiteJC

 
Lazio linked to Fulham defender



Lazio are considering stepping in to sign Fulham's Swiss international defender Philippe Senderos, according to the latest reports.

Philippe Senderos hasn't been on the most convincing form for Fulham of late, but Serie A side Lazio apparently see him as the answer to their defensive shortage.

The ex-Arsenal man has been much maligned for his role in a struggling Fulham defence, but it seems that his reputation in Italy is still good.

Lazio are keen to add to their defensive ranks during the winter transfer window and have previously been linked to Manchester United star Nemanja Vidic.

Like Vidic, Senderos' contract will expire in the summer and Fulham are likely to be open to a cut-price deal.

Swiss website Infoticker.ch, claims that Lazio are willing to make the move now but could wait for the summer when Senderos will be a free agent.

The Eternal City side are in mid-table but things have been looking up since the return of coach Edy Reja to replace Vladimir Petkovic.

Senderos is no stranger to Serie A football having played for AC Milan in the 2008-09 campaign while on loan from Arsenal.

The 28-year-old made 14 appearances for the Rossoneri and he wanted to stay there permanently but injury and competing with Paolo Maldini for a place in the starting 11 stopped that being possible.

Is it time for Fulham to move Senderos on?

image: © wonkier


http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/01/21/lazio-linked-to-fulham-defender/?

WhiteJC

 
FC Porto's Steven Defour is in talks with Fulham about a permanent transfer [Het Laatste Nieuws]

It looks like FC Porto's Steven Defour is heading to Fulham provided the clubs can reach a financial agreement on the wantway Belgian midfielder.

Defour, 25, has seen his stock plummet in recent times with the Dragons as he has been left out of the Porto first team for poor performances. Defour has only played 13 ties this season.

With the 2014 World Cup approaching and with Defour eager to kickstart his career back on track, the player has made it abundantly clear he wants out of his current predicament as soon as possible. Last week his agent Paul Stefani told reporters:

He will tell Porto he wants to leave the club. Porto don't want to sell him and consider him as a player for the future, but with the upcoming World Cup, Steven has to play more games.

Until recently Anderlecht were the only club who had shown real interest in signing Defour in January, but Belgian paper Het Laatste Nieuws report on Tuesday that agent Stefani and Fulham CEO Alistair Mackintosh met in London on Monday to discuss a permanent transfer deal.

Fulham are said to have offered Defour a 4 and a half year contract, and by all accounts the financial package offered by the Cottagers is agreeable by the player.

The focus, thus, is now back on Porto. The Portuguese giants are known to want to sell Defour, rather than loaning him out, however the club are said to want around £7 million for the midfielder.

A copy of Het Laatste Nieuws report on Fulham's interest in Steven Defour is below.





http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/fc-portos-steven-defour-is-in-talks-with-fulham-about-a-permanent-transfer-het-laatste-nieuws/?

WhiteJC

 
Allardyce: Fulham's Morrison bid has unsettled West Ham

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has suggested that Fulham's bid to sign midfielder Ravel Morrison has unsettled his squad at what is a busy time of the season, reports the London Evening Standard.

Allardyce also told of his frustration at the fact that West Ham have been unable to add to their squad during the January transfer window so far. Everton striker Nikica Jelavic was thought to be a target, but he joined Hull City, and Monaco's Lacina Traore now looks set to move to Goodison Park, despite West Ham successfully applying for a work permit.

There have been many rumours which have suggested that Morrison is intent on a move to Fulham to rejoin Rene Meulensteen, as they previously worked together at Manchester United. Despite West Ham's insistence that that is not the case, Allardyce suggests that the bid from the Cottagers has unsettled his team.

He said: "I would think that across the country there is a player at every football club unsettled because of mad January and this lunatic transfer window which creates havoc throughout the game.

"There are rumours that somebody is after your player or you are after somebody else's player and that creates a stir within your club, which is unhealthy based on how many important games you have in this period.

"For us, it's been particularly difficult with the problems we're facing and the transfer window adds to that but it's a problem we have to deal with."


http://www.adifferentleague.co.uk/p6_0_23559_-.html#.Ut6Whv0eKL8


WhiteJC

 
Meulensteen hopeful over Sidwell deal

Out-of-contract midfielder wants to stay at Fulham, says boss


In form: Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell
Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen remains hopeful of keeping Steve Sidwell at the club.

The in-form midfielder is out of contract at the end of the campaign and is yet to agree fresh terms, having rejected a 12-month extension back in October .

However, the former Chelsea man has managed three goals in his last four games to take his tally up to six for the season.

And Meulensteen is hoping the club can thrash out a deal to retain Sidwell's services.

"It's clear that Steve would love to stay here," said the Craven Cottage chief.

"He's doing very well here so I hope we come to a suitable solution.

"He will definitely get the credit he deserves from us. His fellow team-mates respect him, as do the staff, for the tremendous job he does for us."


http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/meulensteen-hopeful-over-sidwell-deal-6531510?